Scenario A
I'm choosing my first proper winery system
You've outgrown spreadsheets and a generic accounting tool. You want one platform for the cellar, the cellar door and the compliance load.
See how that decision plays outAustralian winery software, Cepaos comparison hub
Wine software for Australian wineries: how Cepaos compares with Vintrace, Ekos and the lab + research toolkit
If you're a winery owner choosing between Cepaos, Vintrace AU, Ekos and the Australian lab and research toolkit, this is the honest map. Updated June 2026.
Built for Wine Australia Act 2013·ap-southeast-2 Sydney AWS data residency available
Start here
Pick your scenario: three honest paths through this comparison
Scenario B
I'm leaving Vintrace or Ekos because the fit isn't right
Pricing is opaque, support is slow, or the platform doesn't cover WET, BAS, PEPPOL or your export markets the way you need.
Compare the gaps side-by-sideScenario C
I already use Vintessential or AWRI and need an ERP that fits
Your lab partner is excellent. You just need the rest of the business, finance, commerce, compliance, to wrap around their data.
Read the partner-stack patternThe landscape
Four names you'll hear in any Australian winery conversation
Two are pure competitors, two are complementary partners. We mark each honestly so you can decide where Cepaos fits, where it replaces and where it sits alongside.
Vintrace
Pure competitorAdelaide-born production specialist, around 25 years deep in the AU/NZ cellar floor.
Where they shine
- Deepest mobile cellar capture in Australia.
- Robust multi-vintage blend ledger and lot decomposition.
- On-site cellar training across South Australia and a mature account team.
Where Cepaos picks up
- WET Producer Rebate, quarterly BAS and STP Phase 2 native, not add-ons.
- PEPPOL eInvoicing AU/NZ specialisation inbound and outbound.
- Cellar door, wine club and 19-market export in the same platform.
Ekos
Pure competitorAsheville-based multi-vertical craft platform, wine, beer, cider, spirits.
Where they shine
- Cost-per-batch analytics refined across thousands of craft producers.
- Mature multi-vertical workflow for wine, beer and cider in one site.
- Active customer community sharing craft-batch templates.
Where Cepaos picks up
- Wine Australia Label Integrity Programme natively, not external.
- 65+ Australian GI Register validation built into lot records.
- AU GAAP wine chart of accounts and inventory accounting in-platform.
Vintessential
Complementary partnerNATA-accredited independent wine analysis laboratory in Dromana, Victoria, since 1995.
Where they shine
- Independent NATA-accredited results you cannot replicate in software.
- Sensorial assessment by qualified panellists for QA and export.
- Trusted reference lab for pre-bottling sign-off and dispute resolution.
Where Cepaos picks up
- Ingests Vintessential analysis into lot-history timelines automatically.
- Surrounds the lab record with full ERP, finance, BAS, commerce, payroll.
- Multi-entity consolidation when you run several wineries or labels.
AWRI Tools
Complementary partnerAustralian Wine Research Institute, the industry-owned research and reference authority.
Where they shine
- Gold-standard reference data on AU wine chemistry, varieties and faults.
- AWRI Affirm certified-laboratory programme for accredited analysis.
- AWRI Helpdesk for direct technical advice and access to industry R&D.
Where Cepaos picks up
- Captures AWRI Affirm certifications and sensorial scoring as structured fields.
- Surrounds AWRI insight with cellar, commercial, finance and compliance.
- Anchors AWRI references in lot history for export and audit defence.
In practice
How wineries actually use this in practice
Composite portraits drawn from conversations with Australian wineries across the major regions, anonymised, but representative of the patterns we see most often.
A Margaret River producer running 8,000 cases
Left Vintrace because quarterly BAS and the WET Producer Rebate kept living outside the platform, in their accountant's spreadsheet. Cepaos folds the rebate ledger, the BAS labels and STP Phase 2 into the same lot history their winemaker already trusts.
A Yarra Valley boutique with a busy cellar door
Chose Cepaos over Ekos because the cellar door, wine club and DTC were going to be a separate stack on Ekos. With Cepaos the tasting bench, the member subscription and the inventory all share one customer record and one set of stock numbers.
A Barossa premium estate with serious lab discipline
Kept Vintessential for the analysis and AWRI for the sensorial reference, and runs Cepaos for everything else. The lab results flow into the lot record automatically, and the winemaker no longer rekeys numbers between three systems before bottling.
Side-by-side
Twelve things that matter, grouped under three themes
One short table instead of a 25-row wall. Plain-English labels with the technical reference underneath, so you can scan it at a glance and dive deeper only where it counts.
Theme 1
Compliance and admin
| Capability | Cepaos | Vintrace AU | Ekos | Vintessential (lab) | AWRI Tools (research) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Truth-in-labelling for vintage, varietal and region Wine Australia Act 2013 s.39, Label Integrity Programme | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
65+ Australian GI Register validation Barossa, McLaren Vale, Margaret River, Tasmania, etc. | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
WET Producer Rebate, including the $350,000 cap ATO quarterly BAS labels 1A / 1B / W1 / W2 | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
BAS, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and Privacy Act ATO STP 2, Privacy Act 1988 (APP 1-13) | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Theme 2
Production and cellar
| Capability | Cepaos | Vintrace AU | Ekos | Vintessential (lab) | AWRI Tools (research) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mobile cellar capture on iOS and Android Crush, fermentation, additions, fining, racking | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Lot tracking and full traceability Blend ledger and lot decomposition with parent / child lineage | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Lab analysis integration on the lot record AWRI-aligned methods, NATA-accredited lab inputs | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes |
Multi-vintage barrel and blend management Complex multi-component blend lots across vintages | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | No |
Theme 3
Commercial and multi-market
| Capability | Cepaos | Vintrace AU | Ekos | Vintessential (lab) | AWRI Tools (research) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cellar door, DTC and wine club in one platform B2C commerce tied to inventory and member subscriptions | Yes | Partial | Partial | No | No |
50-state US DTC matrix for export Three-tier compliance plus permit-state direct shipping | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
19-locale native compliance EU, UK, US, LATAM, NZ, ZA all built-in, not bolted on | Yes | Partial | Partial | No | No |
Transparent online pricing and self-serve trial AUD pricing published, 14-day trial, no credit card | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Full feature-by-feature reference: /en-AU/cepaos-australia-compliance
The questions we hear most
Six honest answers
Should I leave Vintrace if I'm in Margaret River?
Not necessarily. Vintrace is genuinely strong on cellar-floor capture and complex blend ledgers. The honest test is whether WET Producer Rebate, quarterly BAS, PEPPOL eInvoicing and export markets beyond AU/NZ are now part of your operation. If yes, Cepaos closes those gaps without losing the production depth.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
Can Cepaos really replace Ekos for craft producers?
Yes, if you're wine-pure. Ekos is excellent for multi-vertical craft, wine, beer and cider on one site. Cepaos is deliberately wine-only, which is why Wine Australia Label Integrity, AU GAAP and 19-market export are native. Choose Ekos if you brew and ferment side-by-side; choose Cepaos if your business is wine.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
Do I have to drop Vintessential to use Cepaos?
Absolutely not. Vintessential is a NATA-accredited laboratory and Cepaos is your winery ERP, they're complementary, not competing. Cepaos ingests Vintessential CSV, PDF or API outputs straight onto the lot record. Most professional Australian wineries run both.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
Is Cepaos compliant with Wine Australia Act 2013 the same way Vintrace is?
Yes. Label Integrity Programme lot tracking, the 65+ AU GI Register and bonded-winery cellar workflows are all native in Cepaos. We go further on the surrounding obligations, WET, BAS, STP Phase 2 and Privacy Act APP 1-13, which on Vintrace typically live outside the platform.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
What about WET Producer Rebate accounting?
Cepaos has a native WET Producer Rebate ledger including the $350,000 cap, with quarterly BAS automation that maps to ATO labels 1A, 1B, W1 and W2. You stop pasting between your cellar system, your accountant and the ATO portal at the end of every quarter.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
Where is my data stored, Sydney or elsewhere?
Cepaos offers AWS Sydney (ap-southeast-2) data residency for Australian customers. Your production records, lab inputs, customer data and financial postings can all live in-country, which keeps your Privacy Act posture clean and shortens audit conversations.
Technical references live in the Australian compliance breakdown.
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Comparison reflects publicly available information as of June 2026. Submit corrections via legal@cepaos.com , Cepaos updates the comparison within 5 business days. Trademark holders retain all rights to their marks.