The key challenge was based on a desire to shake up the traditional wine world with an offering for an affluent, educated, and socially influential consumer who does not have a large wine knowledge base. We were also challenged with developing a brand story that would extend to all brand activities and promote social media sharing.

The Uproot winemakers wanted to re-imagine the wine category by a creating fresh, modern and engaging experience for a new generation of wine drinkers. Our task was to develop a compelling brand story, name and visual identity that challenged traditional wine attitudes and delivered a refreshingly different wine experience.

The name, Uproot, was inspired by our clients’ decision to move from downtown NYC to the vineyards of California. Because both partners would be very involved with building the brand, we conveyed a personal touch via a suite of hand-drawn marks used across the system. To establish a fresh approach to the wine category, the packaging system was designed with the concept of simplified, graphic tasting notes. Inspired by each wine’s unique profile, color bars reference the layers of flavors within a given profile: the more prominent the flavor, the larger the color block.

• The first batch of wine was released in August 2013 and has sold over 75% of stock and current releases are all selling better than projected.

• The brand tends to avoid traditional media feedback as the Uproot consumer doesn’t pay attention to it, but the brand has received rave reviews from places like Fox, TechCrunch, InsideHook, Bloomberg and growth in engagement among all social media channels is very strong.

• Vintank is a system that ranks wineries on social media and Uproot has been featured in the Top 10 spot many times over.