Graveyard Keeper 2 Gold Quality Wine: Four Ways to Get It for Mercenaries

Except for reducing Insanity, Gold Quality Wine is also used for hiring mercenaries in Graveyard Keeper 2 after the player negotiates the price with the mercenaries. Although the player can produce it from Gold Quality Grapes, growing high-quality grapes requires considerable Farming Mastery. Fortunately, there are easier alternatives that use lower-quality wine and alchemy ingredients. This guide covers four ways to obtain Gold Quality Wine, including the most practical method for players who have not invested heavily in farming.

When Does the Player Need Gold Quality Wine in Graveyard Keeper 2?

Gold Quality Wine in Graveyard Keeper 2 becomes especially important when hiring mercenaries for combat. As explained in our Graveyard Keeper 2 Combat Guide, mercenary fees increase as the player wins more battles. Eventually (around the time they charge 1 gold), the mercenary offers an alternative payment of three bottles of Gold Quality Wine per battle.

Once the player switches to this payment method, subsequent hires require three bottles of Gold Quality Wine rather than a coin payment.

There are four main ways to obtain Gold Quality Wine:

• Grow Gold Quality Grapes: Press the grapes into Gold Quality Grape Juice and brew the juice into wine.
• Upgrade lower-quality wine: Use Spices and Umami to improve Bronze or Silver Quality Wine.
• Buy Gold Quality Wine: Purchase it from the Brewery after upgrading the merchant to Tier III.
• Item spawning mods

Each method has different requirements, so the best option depends on the player’s Farming Mastery, available ingredients, and merchant progression.

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Method One: Upgrade Wine with Spices and Umami

For players with low Farming Mastery, upgrading lower-quality wine is usually the easiest route. This method avoids the need to grow Gold Quality Grapes or obtain the Gold Quality Grape Seeds from the Brewery or Davy.

The player needs Bronze Quality Grape Seeds, which are available from Herm, the Trademaster, or the Brewery. Grow the grapes, process them into Bronze Quality Grape Juice, and brew the juice into Bronze Quality Wine. Or the player can start from Silver Quality Grape Seeds as well, and skip the step that requires Spices.

Next, use the Kitchen Table to upgrade the wine in two stages.

Upgrade	Ingredients	Requirement
Bronze to Silver Wine	Bronze Wine + Spices	Transmutation I, Farming Mastery 4
Silver to Gold Wine	Silver Wine + Umami	Alchemy, Advanced; Farming Mastery 6

The first upgrade uses Spices to improve Bronze Quality Wine to Silver Quality Wine. The second uses Umami to turn Silver Quality Wine into Gold Quality Wine. The player can perform both upgrades at the Kitchen Table or Kitchen Table II, provided the necessary recipes are unlocked.

How to Make Spices and Umami

Both ingredients can be produced through alchemy, and the player can also obtain alchemy powders from the Apothecary when progressing through the relevant systems.

• Spices: Requires two Green Runes and two Blue Runes.
• Umami: Requires four Green Runes and four Blue Runes.

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Method Two: Produce Gold Quality Wine from Gold Grapes

Making Gold Quality Wine directly is a more straightforward production method once the player has developed the necessary farming skills and facilities. The process involves growing Gold Quality Grapes, pressing them into Gold Quality Grape Juice, and brewing the juice in a Wine Barrel.

The player can obtain Gold Quality Grape Seeds by improving lower-quality seeds through cultivation or by purchasing them through Davy the Dagger’s medium-to-large Town Orders or the Brewery tier III shop. Growing and harvesting Gold Quality Grapes then provides the raw materials for wine production.

The main obstacle is the high Farming Mastery requirement. The player needs Farming Mastery 14 to cold-press Gold Quality Grapes into Gold Quality Grape Juice and to brew the juice into wine.

How to Keep Gold Quality Seeds Available

Gold Quality Grape Seeds can run out quickly if the vineyard produces too few replacement seeds. The player should therefore prepare the Garden Beds before committing to a large production run.

Use suitable fertilisers to improve the Garden Bed’s Farming Mastery, since better mastery improves the success rate of each tick. For more details, see our Graveyard Keeper 2 Fertilizers Guide, which explains fertiliser options and Garden Bed mastery.

This method suits players who already have a developed vineyard and want a renewable supply of Gold Quality Wine. However, if the immediate goal is simply to pay the mercenary, investing heavily in high-quality farming may take longer than upgrading existing wine.

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Method Three: Buy Gold Quality Wine from the Brewery

Buying Gold Quality Wine is cheap and convenient once the Brewery Shop reaches Tier III. At this level, the merchant sells Gold Quality Wine for 1 Silver and 5 Copper per bottle, making three bottles relatively affordable compared with the escalating mercenary fees.

However, the Brewery is not necessarily the easiest early-game solution. To unlock Tier III, the player must first supply 20 Bronze Quality Grape Juice and then 20 Gold Quality Grape Juice. The player could end up making Gold Quality Wine independently before the merchant even starts selling it.

Once Tier III is available, however, buying wine can save time and effort.

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Method Four: Item Spawning Mods

For players who do not want to spend time on the vineyard and wine brewing, there is also the option of using mods to spawn Gold Quality Wine directly.

The Cheat Menu mod has the option to spawn any items, including Gold Quality Wine. Read here for how to install mods and other mod installation: Graveyard Keeper 2 Mods: How to Install Mods and the Best Mods to Try

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Which Method to Choose for Gold Quality Wine in Graveyard Keeper 2?

The best method depends on the player’s current progression.

• Low Farming Mastery: Upgrade Bronze Wine with Spices, then Silver Wine with Umami. This is generally the easiest route.
• Established vineyard: Produce Gold Quality Wine directly if the player already has Gold Quality Grape Seeds and the required Farming Mastery.
• Brewery at Tier III: Buy Gold Quality Wine when available to save production time.
• Mods: For players who don’t want to spend extra time on farming and brewing.

For most players who need Gold Quality Wine to continue the combat questline, upgrading lower-quality wine is the most practical starting point. It avoids the demanding Farming Mastery requirements for pressing Gold Quality Grape Juice and does not require unlocking the Brewery’s final tier.

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