Website for Lester Estate
- Website Design & Development
- Creative Direction
- Narrative Strategy
- Copywriting
A stunning private parklike setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Lester Estate is a beloved gathering place for its avid club members. The adults-only property is a quiet respite from the rest of the world, where visitors can explore hiking trails and spend a peaceful afternoon sipping fine wine under tall trees.
Instead of working with a single winemaker, Lester Estate offers multiple interpretations of its world-class estate vineyard—farmed by viticulture legend Prudy Foxx—from a handful of highly regarded oenologists.
Estate founder Dan Lester was an adventurer and avid traveler who participated in the discovery of sunken Spanish galleons laden with historic treasures. Lester, now deceased, left behind an eclectic tasting room full of curios and relics from his years of wanderlust.
The Challenge
The Lester Estate team reached out to Vin for solutions to a few problems. First, the existing website advertised the property—Deer Park Ranch—as an event venue, and only secondarily mentioned the wines. But the proprietors wished to focus on wine and discontinue the private events.
Second, despite an active club membership, few new visitors were finding the estate and booking appointments. Finally, the multifaceted brand story begged to be condensed. There were Dan Lester’s adventures, Prudy Foxx’s vineyard development, and the fact that multiple winemakers interpret the site in a variety of bottlings. And then there was the beauty of the estate, an edenic natural area that has been fiercely protected over the years.
Vin launched a fresh new wine-focused website that would change the public perception of the brand. It underscores the quality of the fruit, the caliber of the winemaking, the allure of Dan Lester’s back story, and the appeal of spending an afternoon on a shaded rocking chair, looking out over rows of vines. In addition, it ties the visual brand identity—map lines and antique coins, from Dan Lester’s adventures—together with the present-day experience at the estate.
- Change the public perception of the business, from an event venue to a vineyard and winery.
- Communicate a complex and multifaceted brand story.
- Tie the backstory and visual brand identity together with the present-day experience.
- Highlight the unusual opportunity to taste multiple winemakers’ interpretations of the same estate.
- Increase visitor bookings and club memberships.
