Importing your data from a spreadsheet
Already keeping records in a spreadsheet or another app? You don't have to retype them. MakeWine imports six kinds of record from a CSV, shows you exactly what it is going to do before it writes anything, and lets you undo the whole import afterwards if it wasn't what you wanted.
It is also safe to run the same file twice — each kind has a natural key, and rows that already exist are skipped rather than duplicated.
Open the import page
- Sign in.
- In the top navigation, open Manage and choose Import data. You'll land on the Import your data page.
Choose what you're importing
Pick one of the six kinds. Each expects one row per record:
| Kind | What it holds | Required columns |
|---|---|---|
| Wines / vintages | One row per wine | name |
| Vessels | Tanks, barrels and other containers | cellarNumber, type |
| Current lots | Wine currently in vessels | lotNumber |
| Cellar inventory | Additives, fining agents and supplies | name |
| Lab analyses | Analytical results, one row per parameter per date | parameter, value, unit |
| Density meter readings | An export from a handheld density meter (Anton Paar DMA 35 and similar), one row per measurement | readingDate |
Import in that order if you're doing more than one. Lots are matched to wines by name and to vessels by cellar number, lab analyses are matched to wines and lots, and density meter readings are matched by the meter's Sample ID (or a Lot/Wine you map) — so the things being referred to need to exist first. A reference that doesn't match is reported, never guessed at.
Once you've picked a kind, Download a blank template gives you a CSV with the right header row.
Wine columns
Your file needs a header row. For wines, only name is required:
| Column | Notes |
|---|---|
name | Wine name (required). Used with the vintage as the duplicate key |
category | What kind of drink: accepts grape, country, mead or cider; anything else becomes Other |
variety | Style or varietal — Red, White, Rosé, Sparkling, or the grape name |
grape | Grape variety or primary ingredient |
country | Country of origin |
region | Region of origin |
year | Vintage year |
startGravity | Original gravity (also accepts a column named og) |
endGravity | Final gravity (also accepts fg) |
notes | Free-text winemaker notes |
Column order doesn't matter. Category matching is forgiving — "fruit" or "flower" map to Country Wine, "melomel" and "cyser" to Mead, "perry" and "apple" to Cider — but note that it is asking what kind of drink this is, not what colour it is. Colours and styles belong in variety.
Units are never inferred. On lab analyses unit is required for exactly that reason: g/L and mg/L differ by a thousand, and a guess there would be worse than a refusal. Volumes and capacities are in litres — convert before importing.
Check the mapping before anything is written
- Choose your
.csvfile with the file picker. It is CSV only — there is no paste box, and other spreadsheet formats need exporting to CSV first. - You'll land on Check the columns. MakeWine suggests a mapping for each heading it recognises — but a suggestion is only ever a suggestion. Confirm or change each one. Nothing is written while you're on this screen.
- What will happen then summarises the import before you commit: how many rows will be created, which will be skipped as duplicates, and which have problems. Rows with problems are listed under "These won't be imported until you fix them", with the line number and the reason.
Only the faulty rows are held back — every valid row still imports. If it doesn't look right, Don't import backs out without writing anything.
After the import
The result screen tells you what was created. From there you can:
- Undo this import — removes everything that import created, in one step.
- Import something else — go back and run another kind.
Every past run is listed under Previous imports, each with its own Undo. That is the real safety net: you do not have to get the file perfect first time, because a wrong import is one click from being unwound.
Notes
- Importing your wines is available on every plan, including the free Cellar Hand plan. The other kinds belong to features with their own plan requirements — check the pricing page if you are not sure what your plan includes.
- Scope is current state, not history. Bring in the wines, vessels and lots you have now; fermentation batches, additions and further lab readings are added afterwards on each wine's detail page — see the "Tracking a fermentation" tutorial.
- Additions and spray records cannot be imported. That is deliberate, not an omission: a wrong dose or date in a regulatory record can mean a failed inspection or fruit picked inside a withdrawal period, so those are entered by hand where you can see them.
- If a row imports with the wrong category, open the wine from Winery → My Wines and correct it, or undo the import and re-run the corrected file.