A winery is a food plant
A winery moves juice and wine, and it wants food-only history on anything the product touches. Totes show up for harvest, for transfers between tanks and for cleaning water. A used tote of unknown past is out of the question; a new bottle, or a tote with documented food history, is the standard.
ZIPs here include 92590, 92591 and 92592. Harvest is seasonal, so a winery that wants totes is often asking before a deadline. Say the date in the request, and the wineries page lists what else to include.
Groves and nurseries
Avocado and citrus growers use totes for irrigation and for mixing. Their questions are the ones in the drip irrigation guide: pressure, filters and clean history. Nurseries order differently again, often several totes at once for a growing area.
| Buyer | What they check first |
|---|---|
| Winery | Food-only history or new bottle |
| Avocado or citrus grower | Clean water history, valve fit |
| Nursery | Number of totes, delivery path |
| Light manufacturer | Plate dates, chemical history |
Why history is the headline
In this valley the question is almost never how many. It is what the tote held before. The food-grade history guide defines the term, and the food-grade totes page shows how to ask.
Wineries, groves and nurseries
A winery treats a tote as a food vessel and wants food-only history or a new bottle. Avocado and citrus growers run water through totes and want a clean past. Nurseries often order several at once. Harvest sets a calendar for wineries, so put the date you need the totes in the request.
The wineries page and the food-grade totes page list what else to say.
Records a winery will want
A winery will want the owner, each fill with its date, the wash between fills and the condition of the valve and gasket. A single dated page for each tote is enough. See the food-grade history guide for the full list.
Timing around harvest
Harvest compresses demand into a few weeks. A winery that describes its need early, with the count by size and the date it must have totes by, leaves room to find the right history. Growers who run water all year have no such deadline but should still describe the history they require.
Trades named in the public sources
The sources behind this page: temeculawines.org, visittemeculavalley.com, read on 2026-11-11. A trade on this list is a reason a site there might buy, sell or clear IBC totes; it does not say any particular firm does.
- Wineries
- Avocado and citrus groves
- Nurseries
- Light manufacturing
Questions people ask
How many wineries are in Temecula Valley?
About 47 to 50 licensed wineries.
Can a winery use a rinsed tote?
No. A rinsed tote has unknown history; use food-only history or a new bottle.
Sources. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.