Do it in one import, from a browser, with your storage names already correct in the file — because an import only ever adds. There is no merge, so a second run at the same list leaves you with two of everything.
⚠️ An import never de-duplicates against what you already hold. If a first attempt lands wrong, clear the collection and start again rather than uploading a corrected file on top of it. Only the collection's owner can clear it.
Get the file right before you upload
Name your cellars and fridges first. The cellar-or-fridge-name column is matched against the storages you already have, exactly as written; anything unmatched becomes a new cellar. The match is literal, so Kitchen Fridge and Kitchen fridge give you two storages. A blank cell lands in one called My Cellar.
Three columns are required — Vintage, Producer and Wine name, named as the guide page lists them. Everything else is optional.
Fill in wine type and grapes anyway. They are optional, but they are what lets a row match a wine in our database, and unmatched rows come back to you as a spreadsheet to fix by hand.
Do not expect 3D positions. No import can place bottles into VinLocate slots. Put your own coordinates in the custom-bottle-location column as text and place bottles afterwards.
Which route, and who looks at it
Source | Where you start it | Who reviews it |
CellarTracker | In the app, or the web app | Nobody — it completes on its own |
Vivino | The web app | Nobody — it completes on its own |
Spreadsheet | The web app | One of our team. The app says that can take up to a week, depending on the queue |
The iPhone, iPad and Android apps cannot open a spreadsheet or a Vivino file — tap either and they email you a link to the web app instead. CellarTracker is the one that runs in the app, by signing in with your CellarTracker username and password.
app.invintory.com → Import Bottles → Import spreadsheet
While it runs
One import at a time. A collection with one in progress refuses a second — and a failed import still counts, so cancel it before trying again.
Cancelling is web-only. Open Import Bottles on the web app and press Cancel import; neither app can.
Cancelling and re-uploading does not jump the queue — you keep your place in it.
Resist adding the same bottles by hand while you wait. Nothing will de-duplicate them later.
Everyone who owns or administers the collection is notified when it finishes. Any wine we had to create for you joins our review queue, but the bottles themselves are real and editable straight away.
Next steps
How to import your collection — the full walkthrough, screen by screen
Understanding import wait times — what happens between upload and arrival
How to import your full collection after a partial upload — the fix when only some of it landed