About Us

We are passionate about fine wine and committed to celebrating the beauty and bounty of wine country. And we know that fine wines are made by good people. We’ll tell your story in a compelling way, bringing your customers closer to you.

Process

How We Work

Our approach is collaborative. We listen to your goals and dreams, and then create an effective plan to accomplish them. Uncovering and understanding brand insights informs the strategic approach. The result, bespoke designs expressing a distinct personality and character.

1
Discover

2
Dream

3
Design

4
Develop

5
Deliver

Work With Us

Team

Jon Krauss

Jon Krauss

Creative Director

Jon founded Vin in 2009 because he loves wine and fine wine design. With twenty years of experience in art direction, identity branding, graphic design, and web development, Jon brings a diverse client roster of wineries and non-winery clients including Yale School of Medicine, The Seattle Times, and MSN. He studied German Literature at Whitman College, Art History at Humboldt University Berlin, and Fine Arts at The Evergreen State College. Based in Portland, Oregon, Jon brings a fresh perspective to the wine world.

Visit Jon's Website

Katherine Cole

Katherine Cole

Communications Director

Katherine is a journalist and wine writer who has been covering beverages for twenty years and has written four books on wine. A graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Katherine was named to the “Imbibe 75” list of “the people, places and flavors that will help shape the way we all drink” in 2014. She also hosts The Four Top on Oregon Public Broadcasting, the 2017 James Beard Foundation award-winning podcast.

Visit Katherine's website

Annie Jefferson

Annie Jefferson

Brand Manager

With an agency background in brand strategy, brand design, content development, and project management, Annie has worked with companies ranging from enterprise to boutique to refresh old brands, build new ones, launch websites, and create engaging marketing material. In 2013, she won the London School of Economics Entrepreneurship Award with funding to launch a content creation company. Now California-based, Annie also oversees the marketing of her family’s St. Helena vineyard.

Visit Annie's website

Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Strategic Advisor

Brandon is the winemaker at Dragonette Cellars, based in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County California. He has worked and studied with some of the finest wineries and retailers in the world, and holds a degree in Geology from Whitman College. His extensive experience at many levels of the wine business provides an in-depth insider perspective to the world of wine.

Visit Brandon’s winery

Wine gladdens the human heart,
and joyfulness is the mother
of all virtues.
— Goethe

Questions and Answers

  • What makes Vin special among creative agencies?

    We started Vin because we love wine and fine wine design. Wine is our focus, expertise, and passion.

    We’ve worked with over 100 wineries of all sizes, and collaborated with lots of smart folks – winemakers, proprietors, marketing and PR specialists, designers, and distributors.

    We’ve been influenced by their ideas, creativity, knowledge, and values. From these people we’ve learned to understand the business of wine on many levels, gotten to know the wine drinking audience and how to communicate to them.

    This deep insider knowledge of the wine world is crucial to our clients’ success. It’s how we guide them in the best direction and approach through choices during process of creative projects.

  • How is fine wine like fine wine design?

    People have taste and intuitively perceive quality through their senses.

    Vintners and designers work hard to refine their sensibilities and skills, in order to create quality from source materials and compete in a saturated marketplace.

    Some people have more refined sensibilities, through nature, education, or experience. Although inexperienced wine drinkers may not understand the complex nuances of flavor, experienced aficionados certainly will.

    People outside the design field like winemakers and proprietors may not recognize the nuances of fine design. They may not be able to anticipate the reactions and visual sensibilities of their audience.

    That’s why smart wineries hire qualified expert winemakers and designers — artisans passionate about their craft and uncompromising about quality. And that’s where we can help.

  • How do we communicate during projects?

    Although physical distances may be great, we’re able to effectively communicate with clients around the globe.

    Some tools we use to coordinate are email, screen sharing, file sharing, and phone call meetings.

    Feel free to get in touch with us here to try it out: hello@vinagency.com.

  • What's the process for getting a project proposal?

    We start the process of building a proposal with an exploratory questionnaire. This helps to get to know your business better and define the project requirements.

    We follow up the questionnaire with a conference call to make sure we’re on the same page. Then we prepare a formal proposal with the project scope, cost budget, projected timeline, and contract.

    Once we receive the signed contract back along with a deposit payment, we schedule your project and begin preparation.

    Feel free to get in touch know if you have any questions. We’re looking forward to working with you.

    Contact UsRequest for Proposal

Testimonials

  • We engaged Vin to redesign Tzora Vineyards’s visual brand presence and bring it on the level with the top tier of quality on the international stage. We collaborated closely throughout the process and Vin was attentive to our goals and flexible in developing our ideas. The work has successfully endured the test of time and continues to make a strong impact on our customers. We highly recommend working with Vin.

    — Eran Pick, General Manager and Winemaker at Tzora Vineyards

  • Shortly after starting VineSpring in 2011, we began searching for a talented interactive web developer who could showcase the best of what VineSpring has to offer. We found what we were looking for in Jon Krauss and Vin. Their work continues to impress with clean responsive design that delivers awesome results. Recommending Vin to any winery looking for great brand, identity, or website design is an easy choice.

    — Chris Towt, Co-Founder at VineSpring

  • Vin came highly recommended to us by one of their previous clients, and after a brief telephone conversation we knew we had found a kindred spirit.

    Vin’s prior experience and focus, coupled with an almost maniacal attention to detail, ensures no design stone is left unturned. Goals were set throughout the design process and were attained to ensure that final production was not only flawless in quality but delivered on-schedule.

    Consulon receives dozens of compliments each month from peers, on its business card design and website, and Vin follows up regularly to ensure our online image is maintained.

    — Ian Burrows, Proprietor at Consulon

  • I’ve been working with Vin since the launch of the brand. Vin quickly understood what I was looking for in both the look and feel of the label and the website. I continually get compliments on both. We have been working together over the years and continue to fine tune and make changes to the website. Vin responds to my requests quickly, offers great advice and then implements the changes instantly.

    — Tony Arcudi, Winemaker at Arcudi

  • I have worked with Jon Krauss on several wine industry projects and I would highly recommend him and his team. My projects involved wine branding through label and logo design and a winery website update and overhaul. In both instances I found Vin to be very knowledgeable with a well developed creative capacity. He was a great collaborator and also patient with my lack of technical acumen. His communication skills were also excellent. He listened to my goals for the projects and delivered great results. I hope to work with Jon and team again in the future and I would not hesitate to recommend them to my closest friends.

    — Andrea Lederle, Principal at Lederle Consulting

Clients

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What We Do

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