May 15, 2007
Winery Web Site a ‘Liquid’ Asset

When Walter and Eileen Brys opened Brys Estate two years ago, they wanted a Web site that would tell their story. Founding a vineyard and winery on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula was the fulfillment of a dream for them, and they wanted visitors to know that.

They also wanted a site that would trumpet the new winery’s state-of-the-art equipment, processes and winemaking techniques; showcase the beauty of their property; and evolve along with their business. With help from designer Caroline Schaefer-Hills, they created a Web site – www.brysestate.com – sophisticated enough to meet their goals. It looks great, too.

Schaefer-Hills owns SchäferHaus, a design firm based in Traverse City, Mich. She was approached by Walter and Eileen after they saw work she had done for another winery, she said.

A Web site can be an effective – and necessary – communication tool, Walter said.

“You need to assume nobody knows you’re out there,” he said. “Make sure you’ve taken the time to develop an interesting story about who you are, why you’re there and why they should buy your things and visit your winery. It has to be communicated to people it’s really worth it to come out.”

Make sure your story is accurate, however. If visitors experience something different from what they were promised, it’s not good.

“People really do hold you accountable for whatever you communicate to them,” Walter said. “Be sensitive to that.”

The site went online in May 2005, about the time Brys Estate opened for business. Many of the site’s features have been there from the beginning, but they’ve added a few things as well, such as a wine club option. They recently hired a new winemaker, Coenraad Stassen from South Africa, and plan to announce it on the Web, Walter said.

A lot of research went into www.brysestate.com. Walter and Eileen studied other Web sites for ideas and worked closely with Schaefer-Hills, who also designed their packaging and logos. They wanted to use the latest Internet trends to reflect the quality of their wine, and they wanted strong visuals to match the copious text. Not everyone likes to dig into all those words, Walter said.

Winery Web sites need a certain level of sophistication, the designer said. She wanted www.brysestate.com to have a “liquid” feel to it, since it was about wine. Buttons and links flow in and out on the page, like wine from a bottle.

When they were developing the site, Internet retail wasn’t a priority. Since then, selling products online has become a viable business option. Walter wants to update the Web site this year to make it easier for online shoppers to buy products with the Brys Estate logo, like hats and golf shirts. Wine purchases will always need special authorization, but Walter wants to create an online catalog for non-alcoholic products, a system that can handle the entire transaction without requiring shoppers to call the winery.

Of course, running a high-quality Web site that’s continually evolving isn’t cheap. Their initial budget was $5,000, but they’ve probably doubled that. Still, it’s the best decision they ever made, Walter said.

Old Mission, an 18-mile long, narrow finger of land stretching north into Lake Michigan from Traverse City, is a popular area for wine tours, and a lot of people plan their excursions online beforehand. An eye-catching Web site is a good way to grab their attention, and it’s available 24 hours a day, Walter said.

The Brys Web site has won several awards, but Schaefer-Hills is more gratified by the positive feedback the winery gets from it. Brys Estate is one of her favorite clients because its site is packed with useful content and its owners are willing to explore the creative process and trust her suggestions. Some businesses get a Web site just to say they have one, and they don’t put much effort into making it the best it can be


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