Moving your winery to Shopify is more straightforward than most owners expect — and you don't need a developer or a Shopify Plus plan to do it. The confusion usually isn't whether to move; it's the how. This guide breaks down exactly how the pieces fit together, what a migration involves, what it costs, and how to switch without losing your clubs, customers, or order history.
If you'd rather see it all on one page with the step-by-step, visit our migration guide — but here's the full picture.
The quick version
- Shopify runs your store, Vinoshipper keeps you compliant, and CrushSuite connects them — natively, inside the checkout you already use.
- No Shopify Plus required. Compliant wine selling works on every standard Shopify plan.
- You keep your data. Products, customers, order history, and active club members come with you.
- No downtime. Your current platform runs in parallel until you flip the switch.
Do I really need Shopify, Vinoshipper, and CrushSuite?
Yes — and they don't overlap. Each owns a different job:
- Shopify is the store you own: your website, checkout, Shop Pay, products, payments, and customer accounts, plus the 13,000+ app ecosystem wine was historically locked out of.
- Vinoshipper is your licensed compliance and tax backbone. It holds your DTC permits, calculates real-time alcohol tax by state, and can even warehouse and fulfill your orders.
- CrushSuite is the bridge. It brings Vinoshipper's compliance into Shopify's checkout natively — age checks, state shipping rules, and the State Alcohol Fee applied per order — and adds wine clubs on top.
You're not paying three tools to do the same thing. CrushSuite handles the compliance layer, Vinoshipper holds the licenses, and Shopify is the store.
Where are you migrating from?
Most wineries land in one of three buckets, and the move looks a little different for each:
- On a wine platform (Commerce7 or WineDirect). You have clubs, customers, and history you can't lose. Your data can be synchronized over, and you keep both systems running in parallel, so nothing gets stranded and the winery never goes offline.
- On Vinoshipper, but no real store. Keep your Vinoshipper account exactly as-is — CrushSuite brings it into a Shopify store you own and control.
- Already on Shopify with a workaround. Swap your age popup or off-site checkout for real, enforced compliance inside your own checkout.
On WineDirect? The clock is real
WineDirect is sunsetting its classic self-service DTC platform, with support ending December 31, 2026, and its software business was folded into Commerce7 in 2025. That's exactly the platform risk that makes owning your store on Shopify matter. Moving now lets you switch on your timeline, not theirs, and bring your customers and clubs with you.
How a winery migration actually works
A fresh winery with no data can be live the same afternoon. A full move with clubs and history usually takes a few weeks, planned around your release calendar so nothing breaks. The steps:
- Install & connect. Add CrushSuite from the Shopify App Store and connect your Vinoshipper account. No developer, no Plus plan.
- Bring your catalog & states. Sync products and inventory from Vinoshipper and choose where you ship; CrushSuite loads the current rules per state.
- Sync your customers. Your customer list and order history can be synchronized over from Commerce7 or WineDirect, so relationships and purchase history carry across with you.
- Place a test order. A real end-to-end test — age gate, state check, fee, and Vinoshipper sync — before a single customer sees it.
- Run in parallel, then flip the switch. Keep selling on your current platform until the new store is verified, then go live with zero gap.
What does it cost?
CrushSuite starts at $24.99/mo + 1.9% of online sales with no setup fee — the lowest compliance entry point on Shopify. A Pro plan ($199/mo) lowers the rate for higher-volume wineries, and wine clubs are in private beta. The standard install — connecting Vinoshipper, choosing your states, basic product sync, and a guided test order — is included. Bigger or more bespoke moves, like storefront design, help getting your data and clubs synchronized, or advanced integrations, are quoted as fixed-scope work up front, never open-ended hourly.
Will I lose my customers or club members?
No. You bring your products, customers, order history, and active club members with you, and your current platform keeps running in parallel until you're confident. Nothing is stranded, and the winery never goes dark during the move.
Ready to map your move?
The best first step is a short call where we look at your current setup and show you exactly how the pieces fit. See the full migration guide, or book a migration call and we'll map it out in 30 minutes.
