WSMP Verification NZ: What to Send Before Booking

A useful WSMP verification booking starts with the actual wine business and its registered scope. The prospective provider needs enough information to confirm the appropriate service, assess the required arrangements and plan access to the operation and evidence.

This guide is for an operator arranging verification of a registered Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP), including a first enquiry, a routine booking or a proposed provider change. It helps organise the handover. If the business’s registration position is uncertain, resolve that question before treating a booking as confirmation that the activity is covered.

Describe the wine business and its registered WSMP scope

Begin with the legal operator, WSMP identification, site addresses and the contact responsible for day-to-day management. Describe the work performed at each location: for example, winemaking, blending, bottling or other activities actually within the operation. Explain which work is performed by contractors or another business.

State whether wine is made for domestic sale, export, or both. Identify the type of wine and any proposed export activity. A request headed “winery verification” can hide material differences between the registered operation, the work performed on site and the intended market.

MPI’s explanation of WSMP verification describes a systems-based check of the plan’s scope, procedures, records and applicable export requirements. Your enquiry should make those matters understandable; it does not need to imitate a full verification report.

Flag changes to the operator, premises, activities or plan since the last report. The Wine Act 2003 makes registration specific to the operator and premises or place, and provides separate processes for relevant changes. A new booking should not be assumed to transfer registration or approve a changed activity.

Confirm recognised scope and independence before appointment

Use MPI’s wine industry registers and lists to find the relevant recognised agencies and persons, as well as the registered WSMP information. Ask the prospective provider to confirm that its current recognition and arrangements cover the work you describe. A general food-safety service description is not sufficient confirmation for every wine operation.

Tell the provider who developed the plan and who evaluated it or any significant amendment. Regulation 59 of the Wine Regulations 2021 prevents a verifier from verifying a plan they previously evaluated, or whose significant amendment they evaluated, for two years after the evaluation unless the Director-General agrees otherwise in writing.

Disclose previous advisory work too, so the provider can check the applicable independence and conflict-of-interest arrangements. Keep a preparation or consulting engagement distinct from the recognised verification function. Ask who will perform each role and record the agreed boundaries.

Check the actual WSMP verification dates

Provide the registration date, the date the initial verification began, the most recent report and the stated next due date. Explain any intended first export or other genuine project deadline. These dates answer different questions and should not be replaced with a single preferred appointment date.

For initial verification, regulation 60 distinguishes:

• A business subject to verification that makes New Zealand grape wine for export under its WSMP: initial verification is required before the earlier of its first export after registration and the date six months after registration.
• Any other wine business subject to that Part: initial verification must occur no later than six months after its WSMP is registered.

For ongoing verification, regulation 62 sets the frequency steps, including annual verification for a business making wine for export under its WSMP. Unacceptable outcomes can lead to increased frequency; domestic operations may qualify for performance-based reductions. Ask the verifier to confirm the applicable schedule from the actual status and history.

Contact the provider early enough to check capacity, scope and access. An enquiry email, a tentative calendar entry or a quote does not itself satisfy the required verification. If a deadline is approaching, explain that at the first contact rather than waiting for a perfect document pack.

Prepare a document handover that the verifier can use

Use a short index showing the document name, version or date, responsible person and location. Send what is relevant to scoping and preparation, and agree the secure method for any larger record transfer. The following groups are a recommended booking structure, not an official mandatory form.

Regulations 13 and 15 contain actual document-access and evaluation-report duties. Plan documents need to be legible, accurate, identifiable by version and accessible to responsible people; the operator must provide its evaluation report to the responsible verifier or agency. Confirm which records the provider needs for the verification instead of assuming that a folder of blank templates is enough.

Keep the distinction between evidence and an explanation clear. If a record is missing, identify the gap and the action being taken. Do not recreate a historical operating record as though it had been completed at the time.

For the detailed receipt, blending, bottling and dispatch links, use the separate wine batch traceability record guide. The booking handover should identify where those records can be accessed, rather than replace the underlying record trail.

Arrange people, activities and evidence access

Identify the main contact and a deputy who can locate records and explain the relevant activities. Tell the provider about seasonal production, shutdowns, bottling arrangements, site restrictions and key staff availability. Ask what needs to be operating or available during the planned assessment.

The operator has an access duty under the Wine Act. Test practical access before the visit: can the responsible person open the current plan, retrieve a requested report and find records held by a contract bottler or external store? Merely knowing a file exists somewhere is different from being able to provide it.

Explain responsibility boundaries with other businesses. A contractor’s record or verification report may be relevant evidence, but it should not be assumed to cover every obligation of your own operation. Ask how relevant interfaces will be examined and who will supply information that your staff do not hold.

Regulation 67 requires the verifier to advise the operator of the scope at the beginning of each verification. It also allows the scope to be expanded during verification where the verifier considers this necessary. A booking brief helps planning but cannot predetermine every matter the verifier may examine.

Confirm the written quote and booking arrangements

Compare quotations against the same operation, sites, activity scope and available evidence. Ask what the price includes, such as preparation, assessment time, reporting, travel and follow-up work, and how additional work is agreed. There is no universal fee or visit length stated in this guide.

Before treating arrangements as confirmed, check:

• The operator, WSMP and sites covered by the engagement.
• The provider and role being appointed, including recognised scope and independence confirmation.
• The agreed date or arrangements, and how they relate to the actual verification deadline.
• Which people, activities, documents and access need to be available.
• The quotation basis, exclusions and approach to follow-up work.
• Who handles any required agency-change notification or other separate administrative step.

After verification, retain the written report and act on the findings. Regulation 70 requires the report to identify matters including the scope, outcome, corrective-action timeframes, any frequency change and when the next verification is due. Keep that report with the action evidence and use it to prepare the next booking.

Export eligibility and official assurance requirements are separate matters under the Wine Act. Do not treat a booking confirmation, or verification alone, as proof that a particular consignment has met every applicable export requirement.

Avoid common WSMP booking mistakes

• Requesting a price without identifying the operator, activities and sites.
• Using a domestic-only description when the operation makes wine for export.
• Sending a superseded plan without explaining later changes or amendments.
• Confusing evaluation, preparation support, verification and export eligibility.
• Treating an open corrective action as closed because a response was sent.
• Assuming a provider change resets the due date or transfers registration.
• Leaving access to contractor-held records or the responsible staff until the visit.

Discuss the appropriate verification support with AFVA

AFVA’s published WSMP service covers verification support for wine businesses where applicable and within recognised scope. Its enquiry process asks about WSMP status, activities, sites, export status and verification needs before confirming scope and booking arrangements.

Send those details with the current report, due date, known changes and open actions. AFVA can discuss the appropriate next step and confirm whether the requested service is available within the required recognition and independence arrangements. Any separately agreed preparation support should have its own clear role and deliverables.

General information only: Reviewed 22 October 2026. Requirements depend on the registered operation, wine, processes, premises, market and verification history. Use the current Wine Act, Wine Regulations and applicable notices, and confirm the arrangements for the specific business with an appropriately recognised provider.