ExceptionalWines.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2001
Contact: Don J. Huffman, HuffmanCom, don@huffmancom.com, 707 257-2585
Carol Smith, ExceptionalWines.com (650) 322-1067

ExceptionalWines.com partners with HuffmanCom.com To launch e-commerce grapevine.

NAPA, Calif. ? Catering to a new generation of "discerning" wine consumers, ExceptionalWines.com of Atherton has selected HuffmanCom.com, a Napa-based integrated marketing, design and communications firm to create and launch their educational, wine and food-savvy website.

"We committed to an extensive search for marketing partners who could offer strategic planning, quality design, and e-commerce ? a little wine knowledge wouldn?t hurt either," said Carol Smith, CEO of ExceptionalWines.com. "We were thrilled to find all that and much more at HuffmanCom. In a short amount of time, HuffmanCom has become a genuine marketing partner."

Amid the failings and consolidations of many online wine retailers, ExceptionalWines.com patiently built its business infrastructure, information database and distribution processes before its official web site launch. The web site, which was originally built for wholesale wine buyers, takes the sophisticated wine buyer on a personal buying tour by presenting international and domestic wines from a different perspective.

This perspective includes tasting notes from personal visits to appellations throughout the world, sommelier food paring preferences for complimentary cuisine and reviews from both wine and food critics around the globe. With regional and appellation information from France, Italy and the US, the consumer is able to achieve a better sense of how the wine is produced and why each region is unique from the next. Additionally, founders Bruce and Carol Smith, pursue a personal desire to provide only wines with the best value and drinkability. This, in many cases, means finding true artisan wines rare to the US market.

Technically speaking, the ExceptionalWines.com web site provides the consumer with an animated pictorial map of appellations using Flash® technology and a rich database of information formulated from each trip to a new appellation. "Viewers can take a journey with us as we visit some of the most rare and interesting vineyards around the world," says Smith. "Additionally, our web site grew from a ?for trade? web site which featured sales tools (techsheets, estate pages, POS information) including information about each wine that the consumer is not use to seeing." Detailed technical information and estate previews can also be accessed and easily printed, so the consumer can build a personal techsheet library for each wine."

Coming this September, the ExceptionalWines.com web site will include an interactive XwineClub experience where consumers will be able to directly participate in the food-pairing and wine review process. "We?re excited about this addition to the site. As consumers ourselves, we?ll know exactly what?s on the minds of our customers, and will be able to provide them with even better service and information," says Smith.

Smith, and her husband Bruce, co-founder of ExceptionalWines.com, believes "finding wonderful wines is like a treasure hunt." In additional to reading and researching wines, they have traveled extensively through the French and Italian countryside to taste and select vintages. The Smiths share their knowledge of wine and food on the web site by specifying what wines complements certain foods and vice-versa. "We?re here for one purpose?to enrich the experience of the wine enthusiast," says Smith.

HuffmanCom.com, established in 1998, is a traditional and interactive marketing communications firm located in Napa, California, offering marketing service, strategic planning, identity development, graphic design, web development, and public relations services. HuffmanCom.com is credited with several high-end web sites including: Daviesgate.com, Vendmart.com, Cedvoices.com, and Kempkey.com.

####

View Archive