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Winery Safety: Common Violations and How to Stay Safe

Winery Safety: Common Violations and How to Stay Safe

DuraLabel Experts

Updated on: July 2, 2026 4 MINUTE READ Published on: Feb 03, 2023

Wine bottles moving along a conveyor line in a bottling facility.

The two most common OSHA violations at wineries are improper pipe marking and confined space entry failures. Wineries rely on glycol chillers, ammonia refrigeration, and water cooling systems — all requiring compliant pipe labeling under ANSI/ASME A13.1. Confined spaces such as fermentation tanks pose asphyxiation risks from carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide buildup. OSHA issued 87 citations to domestic wine producers in 2015, down from 280 in 2012 — progress driven by improved visual communication, atmospheric testing protocols, and proper hazard labeling.

What Are the Most Common Pipe Marking Violations at Wineries?

Ammonia pipe markers with flow direction labels on vertical industrial piping.

Key to winemaking is that the liquid temperature must be carefully managed during the fermentation and storage phases of the wine-making process. Glycol chillers, ammonia refrigeration, and water cooling systems all contribute to this temperature control, and each may require networks of pipes to operate safely.

To that end, it's important to understand ANSI/ASME A13.1 so it is instantly recognizable which liquid, chemical, or gas flows through each pipe. However, OSHA does not specifically address pipe marking requirements; however, it references the ANSI/ASME standard, making it in effect OSHA's preferred pipe labeling system.

Understanding the color code at the heart of the standard, as well as best practices for label positioning and proper application, can help employees stay safe on the job-and provide vital information to first responders in case of emergency.

Ammonia pipe marking carries with it a different set of regulations and best practices; it follows the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) Bulletin No. 114, to be exact. Learn more about ammonia refrigeration fundamentals, and grab an ammonia pipe marking chart, produced by Duralabel.

Field Note: Many wineries run glycol and ammonia lines through the same corridors as potable water and wine transfer piping. Without clear, color-coded pipe markers per ANSI/ASME A13.1, a maintenance worker or first responder cannot distinguish a glycol return line from a chilled water supply at a glance. In an ammonia leak scenario, those seconds of confusion can be fatal." — Duralabel Safety Experts

Catch up on standards, best practices, and more with Duralabel pipe marking resource center. The resource includes articles, tutorials, how-to videos, our Best Practice Guide to Pipe Marking, and more-all designed to help employers implement proper pipe marking in their facility.

Why Wineries Face Unique Safety Challenges.
Explain the operational logic: Wineries cycle between ambient-temperature agricultural work (harvesting, crushing) and industrial-scale chemical processes (glycol cooling, ammonia refrigeration, CO₂-producing fermentation) within the same facility. This duality means workers trained in agricultural tasks encounter industrial hazards without industrial safety instincts. Pipe marking and confined space protocols bridge that gap — they translate invisible chemical and gas hazards into visible, immediately understood warnings.

Why Are Confined Spaces So Dangerous in Wineries?

Over the years, numerous winery workers have been killed either transferring wine or cleaning tanks when carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide wasn't thoroughly removed from the confined space. (Confined space safety is paramount in another beverage industry that relies on tanks for fermentation and storage: breweries.)

In one such instance, a Napa winemaker died from asphyxia after falling into a wine tank while transferring red wine from a small portable tank to a larger tank. In another instance, a winery worker in Fresno, California, collapsed and died from asphyxia after another employee opened the wrong valve and released ammonia into a confined area. It takes only seconds for asphyxia to occur-a condition when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death. Choking or the inhalation of a high amount of ammonia, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide will cause asphyxia.

Oregon OSHA posted a Hazard Alert (PDF) in early 2014 focusing on confined space entries at wineries within the well-known pinot growing state. Workers who clean, empty tanks, or check the fermentation process "are sometimes directed to bodily enter a tank or place their head inside a tank. The air inside a tank or vat may not be sufficient to support life when gases such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide have displaced oxygen. If the air is not tested prior to exposure, the result can be deadly," it states.

Field Note: Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and pools at the bottom of fermentation tanks — exactly where a worker enters. During active fermentation, CO₂ concentrations inside a tank can exceed 100,000 ppm within hours, where atmospheric levels above 40,000 ppm cause unconsciousness in seconds. This is why atmospheric testing immediately before entry — not hours before — is non-negotiable." — Duralabel Safety Experts

The Oregon hazard alert discusses the requirements to perform atmospheric testing before entering confined spaces of tanks in wineries. Winery tanks, in general, require confined space permits. These permits are intended to require employers at wineries to:

Evaluate the work environment of confined spaces
Identify hazards and label danger or warnings
Develop written procedures to protect employees from those hazards
Train employees in the procedures established

Duralabel free Best Practice Guide to Confined Spaces breaks down the dangers of confined spaces and outlines a path to ensuring safety in dangerous work environments. The guide identifies hazards, summarizes important OSHA regulations, and assists employers in developing processes to prevent injuries and fatalities.

How Can Wineries Improve Workplace Safety and Stay Compliant?

Wine bottles on a conveyor with moving equipment safety warning label.

Duralabel provides numerous resources to help wineries promote a safer workplace. Visual communication, especially, can help employees stay safe around confined spaces and throughout wineries.

Visual communication, in all its forms, is an essential component of a safe workplace. Learn more about printers, supplies, and accessories from Duralabel for creating customized safety signs, or check out our selection of premade signs and labels, available in various sizes and materials.
Improve wayfinding throughout wineries, increase signage visibility in low-light situations, and make it easier for employees to load and unload shipments with DuraLabel Prismatic Reflective Tape. Available in vibrant colors, the durable reflective tape produces a superior reflection during power outages, after dark, or in other low-light settings.