Useful Graphics:
Yellowtail winery may be the prime example of how to blend usability with catchy graphics and fun add-ons. Their homepage, with a rainbow row laid out of each of their wine labels, makes browsing through their selection easy. The simple, effective use of graphics continues on each variety’s page, where they’ve created a digital portfolio of information: flip through a stack of note cards to get essential details on nutrition, wine pairings, and the winemaker’s notes. A helpful flavor map plots each wine against another on a compass-like spectrum of dry/sweet and light/heavy. And their illustrated page of wine pairing options is particularly unique, matching up their different varieties not with food, but with large and small life moments – everything from the first date, to quitting your job, to finishing a novel, to losing your cell phone. By being unique, Yellowtail stands out.
Trust:
Robert Mondavi’s muted web page background color palette and wealth of information help create a website that inspires confidence. A timeline of the winery’s development, details of their innovation and company social responsibility, information on their vineyards and winemakers, a nod to sustainable farming techniques, and a list of winery events from education to art exhibitions, speak to the winery’s breadth of knowledge and esteemed reputation. The message conveyed is that this is a winery to go to for both the quality of their product and the solidity of their business. No matter how long you’ve been in business, you can learn from Robert Mondavi and show your serious side by offering enough detailed information to inspire trust from your customers.
Reaching Your Audience:
A website’s purpose is twofold: to sell wine to customers and disseminate information to the media. Make sure you cover both arenas when you create your website, with particular attention to easy links and usability. Bonny Doon Vineyard succeeds by providing a noticeable link on their homepage that directs viewers to an area specifically created for the press. An art portfolio of images, logos, press releases, accolades, and basic facts on the winery and their distributors can be found here. On the other side of the spectrum, Bonny Doon has worked to create a website that also reaches out to their customers, offering several membership opportunities, a members-only area, and an outline of the benefits of joining. Promoting this sort of community is essential in growing a loyal customer base. And make sure to create an online store, as they have done, so that products can be bought directly over the internet.
Branding:
The Dancing Bull winery has pinpointed their audience – and it’s male. Here is an example of a website dedicated to branding for a specific niche group, starting with the web page background design. An artsy collage of moving graphics lends the site a youthful feel, and images of the New York City skyline speak to its cosmopolitan air. They’ve used Flash templates to create dynamism and interactive sections, and the fun additional web page features target their preferred demographic by humorously teaching guys about wine. Dancing Bull’s “A Guy’s Guide to Wine” is a seventeen-page virtual booklet with sections like “Surviving Wine Lists,” “What’s with the glasses?” and “How to Read a Wine Label.” And their “Don’t be This Guy” page showcases video clips of four different wine-drinker stereotypes that guys should avoid. Learn from Dancing Bull and create a website that breaks the mold creatively and promotes your brand by targeting your specific audience.
