Hearing Conservation for
Crush, Cellar & Bottling.

Bottling lines hit 100 dBA. Crush pads compress a year of exposure into 12 weeks. Seasonal crews arrive faster than baselines can be scheduled. Soundtrace adapts to the rhythm of the vintage.

94

dBA avg bottling line

100

dBA peak crush pad

12 wks

Of compressed exposure

11,700+

U.S. wineries

Independent 1910.95 Audit

Third-Party Reviewed

FDA Registered

Class II Medical Device

SOC 2 Type II

AICPA Certified

HIPAA Compliant

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Made in USA

Engineered & Built

The Reality on the Floor

Why Traditional Testing Fails in Wineries

Crush season, bottling lines, and seasonal labor break the assumptions that mobile-van programs were built around.

Crush Season Compresses 90% of Risk Into 12 Weeks

August through October, crush pads run 16-hour days with destemmers, presses, and pumps overlapping. Annual exposure is loaded into a quarter of the year — but van schedules don't flex.

Bottling Lines Are Louder Than Most Wineries Realize

High-speed glass-on-glass bottling, capping, and corking lines routinely measure 92–100 dBA. Many small and mid-sized wineries have never conducted formal dosimetry on the bottling line.

H-2A and Seasonal Crews Need Baselines Fast

Harvest crews arrive on tight visa windows. Without a way to baseline workers in their first week, you compound exposure risk and miss OSHA's 6-month baseline requirement.

TTB, FDA, and OSHA All Audit the Same Floor

TTB cellar audits, FDA FSMA inspections, and Cal/OSHA visits stack on the same production season. Incomplete hearing conservation records become compounding findings.

Built for Your Operations

How Soundtrace Fits Into Winemaking

Test During Crush, Not After

6 min

per test

6-minute in-house tests fit between harvest deliveries. No more waiting until November when the damage is already in the audiogram.

Onboard Seasonal Crews on Day One

Day 1

baseline captured

Baseline every harvest worker, cellar hand, and bottling-line operator before they take their first shift. Meet OSHA's baseline window even on H-2A timelines.

Verify HPD on the Bottling Line

Real

NRR verification

Fit testing measures actual attenuation for line operators in 94 dBA environments. Catch seal failures from sweat, dust, and inconsistent insertion.

One Record, Every Vintage

30+

year retention

Centralized audiogram, fit-test, and noise-survey records stored digitally with 30+ year retention. Pull any worker's history for TTB, OSHA, or workers' comp instantly.

Know Your Exposure

Typical Noise Levels in Wineries

Bottling, crush, and cellar work all routinely exceed OSHA's 85 dBA action level — and many wineries have never measured them.

85 dBA OSHA action level
Bottling Line
Very High92100 dBA

Glass-on-glass impact, capping, corking

Crush Pad / Destemmer
Very High8896 dBA

Seasonal Aug–Oct peak

Pumps & Transfer Lines
High8592 dBA

Continuous during cellar work

Filtration & Centrifuge
High8590 dBA

Often overlooked in monitoring

Barrel Room / Forklifts
High8090 dBA

Reverberant in tight stacking

Tasting Room / Office
Moderate5570 dBA

Below action level

How Loud Is That?

💬

60 dB

Normal conversation

⚠️

85 dB

OSHA action level

🎸

110 dB

Rock concert

OSHA ITA Data

Hearing Loss Trends in Wineries (NAICS 312130)

OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) reported hearing loss cases across U.S. wineries, 2016–2024.

11,700+

U.S. Wineries

Across all 50 states

94K+

Industry Workers

Production and cellar workers

94

Avg Bottling Line dBA

Above OSHA 85 dBA action level

010020020162018202020222024
Wineries (NAICS 312130)

Compliance Context

OSHA, TTB & FDA in Wineries

Wineries operate under multiple regulators on the same floor. Hearing conservation gaps quickly become cross-audit findings.

OSHA / Cal-OSHA 1910.95 / 5097

Full HCP required for any worker exposed at or above 85 dBA TWA. Cal-OSHA 5097 imposes additional state-level requirements for California wineries.

TTB & FDA Co-Inspection Risk

Cellar audits and FSMA inspections often coincide with state safety visits. Incomplete hearing conservation records compound across simultaneous reviews.

Workers' Comp Exposure

Hearing loss claims average $44K each in agriculture-adjacent NAICS codes. One missed baseline can turn a seasonal hire into a long-term liability.

Workforce Exposure

Who Actually Needs to Be in the Program

Wineries have wildly different exposure profiles between full-time cellar staff and seasonal crush crews. These are the roles that should be evaluated for HCP enrollment based on dosimetry and task variability — many cross the 85 dBA TWA action level, others sit close enough to require monitoring.

Bottling Line Operator92–100 dBA
Bottling lineVery HighHighest sustained exposure in the winery; daily HPD verification recommended.
Cellar Worker85–92 dBA
Cellar & pump roomHighContinuous pump and transfer noise across crush season and racking.
Crush Pad Crew (Seasonal)88–96 dBA
Crush padHigh12-week seasonal exposure; baseline within first week of arrival.
Forklift / Barrel Mover80–92 dBA
Barrel roomModerateReverberant rooms; reaches HCP threshold in tight stacking.
Lab / QC Tech70–85 dBA
Lab adjacent to bottlingModerateBelow threshold most days but spikes when pulled to production floor.
Winemaker / Asst Winemaker75–90 dBA
Floor walks across cellarModerateMixed-area role; intermittent TWA can push into HCP during crush.

Rollout Plan

What a Soundtrace Rollout Looks Like

From pre-crush dosimetry to year-end records — built around the rhythm of a winemaking calendar.

Phase 1Pre-Crush

Site Walk & Dosimetry

Full-shift dosimetry on bottling, cellar, and crush pad. Identify HCP-required roles before crush season begins.

Phase 2Crush Season

Baseline & On-Site Testing

On-site audiograms during crush windows. Day-1 baselines for H-2A and seasonal arrivals so the OSHA window starts on time.

Phase 3Bottling Cycle

Fit Testing

HPD fit testing for bottling line operators where 94+ dBA is sustained throughout shift.

Phase 4Annual Close-Out

Records & Vintage Review

Year-end STS reviews, TTB and Cal-OSHA-ready exports, and a refreshed plan for the next vintage's seasonal cohort.

Wine Industry FAQ

Common Questions From Wineries

Do I have to baseline H-2A workers who are only here for crush?
Yes. OSHA's 6-month baseline window applies to any worker exposed at or above 85 dBA TWA, regardless of visa status or contract length. Day-1 baselines protect both the worker and your liability position.
Is Cal-OSHA 5097 different from federal 1910.95?
Cal-OSHA 5097 imposes additional requirements including more prescriptive HPD training and stricter recordkeeping. Soundtrace tracks both the federal 1910.95 baseline and the California-specific requirements automatically.
Do tasting room and hospitality staff need to be in the program?
Generally no — tasting rooms typically run 55–70 dBA. But if hospitality staff rotate into bottling line tours or crush experiences, document that exposure and treat them as HCP-enrolled for those days.
Can dosimetry happen during a real bottling run without disrupting it?
Yes. Wearable dosimeters clip to operators and run for the full shift. No production stoppage and no calibration interruption to the line.
How do you handle workers who only operate the bottling line a few days per month?
Variable-exposure workers are tracked on a rolling TWA basis. If they cross 85 dBA TWA on any covered day, they enter the program for that exposure period.
Is one Soundtrace platform enough for a multi-winery group with shared labor?
Yes. Multi-site cellar groups use a single Soundtrace platform with worker records that follow the worker across sites — important for portfolio wineries sharing crush crews.

Crush Doesn’t Wait.
Your Compliance Program Shouldn’t Either.

See how Soundtrace fits into winemaking — from crush pad to bottling line, every vintage, every crew.