Graveyard Keeper 2 Gold Wine: The Mastery Wall & a Shortcut

Short answer

A Wine Barrel turns 4 Grape Juice into 4 Wine in 8 ticks, and the quality depends on your Farming mastery: 10 for bronze, 12 for silver, 14 for gold. If you are short of 14, take silver Wine to the Kitchen Table with 1 Umami to make it gold (Advanced Alchemy). Gold Wine is wanted by Inflation (3), The Lord's Vintage (2) and every mercenary hire after Inflation (3 each).

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Route 1: the Wine Barrel

The Wine Barrel recipe is the same at every quality: 4 Grape Juice in, 4 Wine out, 8 ticks.

What changes is the Farming mastery check — 10 gives bronze, 12 silver, 14 gold.

The Sommelier perk was fixed in patch 1.008 so that it really boosts wine crafting; before that it did nothing.

Route 2: upgrade at the Kitchen Table

Bronze to silver: 1 Wine (bronze) + 1 Spices, 6 ticks, after Transmutation I.

Silver to gold: 1 Wine (silver) + 1 Umami, 8 ticks, after Advanced Alchemy.

Both Spices and Umami are alchemy brews, and the Alchemist sells Umami from trader level 3 if you would rather buy it.

Who wants gold Wine

Inflation is a side quest from the Merc Leader that starts after you pay the mercenaries 20 silver in Hooligans for Hire. Bring 3 gold Wine to the Barracks to agree a new deal.

From then on the mercenaries are paid in wine: each hire costs 3 gold Wine.

The Lord's Vintage asks for 2 gold Wine.

Patch 1.008 also fixed an Inflation / mercenary quest error that could block progress, so update before you start it.