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 and our project management is detail-oriented. We listen to your goals, then apply our strategic insights to create an effective plan to accomplish them.

Here’s a glimpse at our website process:

Team

Jon Krauss

Jon Krauss

Creative Director

Jon (pronounced Yahn) founded Vin because he loves wine and fine wine design. With twenty years of experience in website design, brand design, and art direction, he’s collaborated with over 100 wineries around the globe, sized from boutique to mass-market. Jon 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 an expert insider’s perspective to the wine world.

Visit Jon's website

Katherine Cole

Katherine Cole

Communications Director

A graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Katherine is the author of five books on wine and a former wine columnist, editor, and journalist for national and international publications. In addition to her role at Vin Agency, Katherine hosts and executive produces the James Beard Award-winning podcast The Four Top. Katherine is a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier International and the Circle of Wine Writers.

Visit Katherine's website

Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Strategic Advisor

Brandon is 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 in multiple aspects of the business provides Vin with an in-depth insider perspective on 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 love wine. We live and breathe it. Wine is our focus, expertise, and passion. Collectively we have more than 50 years combined professional wine experience.

    We are brand communicators. We approach storytelling with rigorous journalistic standards. Our words, concepts, and strategic insights define brands and entice audiences.

    We are fine designers. Our work is founded on the classic principles of design. Our websites are subtle and elegant, pulling the site visitor through an immersive experience rather than pushing a cluttered look and clumsy sales pitch.

    We hand code. Meticulously. This gives us the flexibility and power to create unique user experiences across the full range of devices while maintaining creativity and quality.

    We’re friendly. We’ve worked with more than 125 wineries of all sizes. We’ve collaborated with winemakers, proprietors, designers, importers, wholesalers, sales teams, and marketing and PR specialists. We take great professional pleasure in making new friendships in the fine beverage world, and fostering our existing relationships.

  • How is fine wine like fine wine design?

    Design, like winemaking, requires a combination of technical proficiency and artistic sensibility. Winemakers are passionate about their craft and uncompromising about quality, and we take the same artisanal approach to our work. Like a fine wine, our websites are designed to stand the test of time.

  • How do we communicate during projects?

    We are based in Oregon and California, and we collaborate with clients all over the globe. We use email, screen sharing, file sharing, and phone call meetings. We are also available for on-site visits, brainstorming sessions, and workshops. Get in touch with us, at hello@vinagency.com, to learn more.

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

    If you are interested in a proposal please contact us via our Request for Proposal, so we can gather some initial information about your project and begin our planning. Then we will respond and schedule a conference call to meet and discuss.

    Next we follow up with an exploratory questionnaire that familiarizes us with your business and your needs. Then we prepare a formal proposal with the project scope, budget, projected timeline, and contract. Once we have received the signed contract and deposit payment, we schedule your project and begin preparation.

    Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. We’re at hello@vinagency.com, and we’re looking forward to working with you.

Testimonials

Vin has been a tremendous partner for DuMOL as we migrated to Vinespring 3 and started pushing the envelope with the feature set. What makes Vin stand out is their desire to truly understand the business need and their willingness to respond to design feedback with a collaborate, no-ego attitude. I also appreciate their timely communication and fast iterations.

— Andrew Kao, Director of Digital Strategy at DuMOL

Vin has been a critical partner in helping us bring an elevated customer experience to our website and e-commerce storefront. It was important for us to deliver a solution that not only embodied our brand but also echoed the customer experience our guests experience on site. Jon and team are extremely customer-focused and are always developing solutions that help the guest navigate with ease. Their attention to detail, efficiency, and high-quality work make them great partners. I believe their work speaks for itself!

—  Melissa DeVore, President at Amici Cellars

Vin delivers the key attributes of a partner: creativity, technical chops, thoroughness, timeliness, transparency, and a collaborative approach. I wholeheartedly recommend Vin to clients as an agency that consistently brings value and a positive experience.

— Karen Fass, Founder at Feast Consulting

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

While the creative and design are top notch, Vin is also able to take feedback and work with their clients in a collaborative manner. They are very responsive and timely in all communication. We also used Vin for copywriting for the first time and our expectations were exceeded.

Vin was also extremely helpful as we changed e-commerce partners twice during the development of our website. I can’t think of a way our experience could have been improved.

— Seana Stephens, Proprietor at Stephens Family Wines (COLLATERAL, HUNNICUTT, D. R. Stephens Estate)

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 Vin on several wine industry projects and I would highly recommend Jon Krauss 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

Services

What We Do

Portfolio

Our Work