Viticulture Essential Edition

To set up the game, each player receives a vineyard board and three field cards with values 5, 6, and 7, which are placed face-up on their board. The four main card decks—Vine, Summer Visitor, Winter Visitor, and Wine Order—are shuffled and placed face-down in their respective spots on the main game board. Players also receive starting resources based on their chosen Mama and Papa cards, which include a combination of money, grape tokens, and workers. The money tokens (Lira) are available in denominations of 1, 2, and 5. Grape tokens are clear for white grapes and purple for red grapes. Each player gets five small worker meeples and one larger Grande Worker meeple in their chosen color, along with a score marker (cork) and a rooster meeple for turn order. The first player is chosen randomly and receives a special grape-shaped token.

The primary objective in Viticulture Essential Edition is to accumulate the most victory points (VP) by the end of the game. These victory points represent your reputation as a vineyard owner. The game concludes at the end of the year in which at least one player reaches or exceeds 20 victory points. The player with the highest VP total at this point is declared the winner.

A game year is divided into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. In Spring, players determine the turn order for the current year by placing their rooster meeples on the Wake-Up Chart, gaining immediate bonuses based on their chosen position. In Summer, players place their worker meeples on action spaces on the main board to perform actions such as planting vines, building structures (like a Tasting Room, Yoke, Trellis, or Windmill), or selling grapes. In Fall, players draw visitor cards (either Summer or Winter visitors) to gain additional actions or benefits. In Winter, players place their remaining worker meeples on action spaces to harvest grapes, make wine, train new workers, or fulfill wine orders. Once all players have passed or placed all their workers, the season ends.

Victory points are primarily earned by successfully fulfilling wine orders. Each completed order card grants a specific number of victory points, as indicated on the card. Additionally, certain structures, like the Tasting Room, can provide victory points when specific conditions are met, such as giving a vineyard tour with a certain level of wine in your cellar. The Windmill structure also grants one victory point per year when you plant a vine. Players track their victory points on the score track around the perimeter of the main board.

The game's end is triggered immediately when any player reaches or surpasses 20 victory points on the score track. However, the current year is always completed, ensuring all players have an equal number of turns. After the Year End phase (aging grapes and wine, retrieving workers, collecting residual payments, discarding down to 7 cards, and rotating the first player token), the game officially concludes. The player with the highest total victory points wins. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking criteria are applied in order: first, the player with the most money, then the player with the highest total value of wine tokens in their cellar, and finally, the player with the highest total value of grape tokens in their crush pad.