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Established in 1882, Calistoga-based Chateau Montelena is credited for helping California wine earn worldwide recognition. In 1976, Chateau Montelena was one of two Napa Valley wineries to come out on top in a blind tasting held for a who's-who of the French wine and food establishments in Paris. Chateau Montelena produces Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Riesling varieties. The winery has been owned and operated by the Barrett Family since 1972.

Situation

Chateau Montelena sought to integrate more personality into its website for a friendly and welcoming user experience. When Chateau Montelena began a redesign project in Fall 2009, it quickly discovered video was an important element in portraying the personality of the brand. While researching options for video platforms, they hoped to find a solution with the versatility to add customizable features while blending seamlessly into the website’s new design.

Solution

Brightcove online video platform, March 2010.

ROI

• Improved production quality and variety
• Increased views, averaging about 1,000 per month
• Additional followers on Facebook

Brightcove Attributes

Adaptable, Creative, Dynamic

Customized Creative Control

Chateau Montelena’s new and personalized website launched in April 2010 with a number of interactive and video features.

“The website is much more dynamic and inviting now,” said Jamie Rothberg, marketing coordinator for Chateau Montelena. “The audio and video features allow potential customers to meet the winemakers of Chateau Montelena and put a face and a voice to them.”

Scrolling photo collages are available throughout the website with videos threaded within the navigation. Improved video quality and an increase in variety reflect the friendliness and personality achieved through the redesign. Video topics include the 1976 French tasting that elevated Chateau Montelena among the world’s finest wines, virtual tours of the vineyards, the winemaking process and the chateau itself.

“The customization is my favorite feature,” Rothberg said. “We can tailor it to whatever we need.”

Other unique features include interactive photo “winks,” occurring at random on images that appear with many of the stories. While the user hovers over the image, or spends time reading an article, the accompanying photo animates with a one- to three-second video clip. Examples include wine swirling around in a glass and a hand turning a bottle of Chateau Montelena wine.

“The shorter video winks portray playfulness, a quality that is important when communicating to newcomers who may be intimidated by a winery with Chateau Montelena’s reputation,” Rothberg said.

Expanded Social Media Capabilities

Along with the redesign, Chateau Montelena has increased its Facebook following by interacting and sharing videos on its group page. A designated tab hosts videos for fans to view, discuss and share with their friends.

Chateau Montelena also enjoys the ability to share video updates with fans, while keeping the content that’s displayed on its Facebook page separate from the videos hosted on the website—all using the same Brightcove platform.

“Sharing videos on Facebook has been a great way to communicate directly with our fan base,” Rothberg said. “And with the Brightcove platform, we don’t have to worry about additional logos or affiliations from the player that may distract from our content and messages."