WINE BRAND DEVELOPMENT

I was introduced to Justin Wylie, a fourth generation Walla Wallan, when he was building his winery. He had a concept for a brand but needed help realizing his vision. That seed of a concept has become Va Piano Vineyards. Over the years I have created many different labels for Va Piano including sub-brands, some higher-end estate labels and a few special ‘private label’ wines, most notably for Whole Foods. In 2015-16, I was asked to refresh the brand, existing labels, and we massively overhauled their e-commerce website as well. Now the labels are cleaner and easier to read, with amazing embossed filigree surrounding the ox-knight, a symbol that represents the old Italian saying ‘Va piano, va sano e va lontano’, meaning ‘He who goes slow, goes safely and far.’ The winery continues to delight its customers with fantastic wines and great events. In addition to their tasting room at the winery, Va Piano recently opened tasting rooms in Spokane, WA and Bend, OR. I have been there with them throughout all of it, creating signage and wall graphics, as well as advertising and collateral support.