Renewing our Look | The "Why" Behind our Brand Refresh

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Renewing our Look | The “Why” Behind our Brand Refresh

By: Jorja Lerner, Vintner & Fifth-Generation Proprietor

1 | THE DECISION TO REFRESH

After 15 years, we decided it was time for an updated look for our label. It will be a few months before these newly labeled wines are ready to share with you, but, as you are the heart of all we do, we want to make sure to include you on the journey.

Our current label has served us well over the years. The decision to change that was not taken lightly. After lots of thought and discussion, we knew it was time to make changes that would better represent who we are and what we value. While the package will look different, our commitment to producing quality, estate wines has not changed. In fact, we are more committed than ever to excellence in our growing, winemaking, and experiences.

I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months about the journey we’ve been on to clarify our purpose and better share our story. I hope you will be as excited as we are!

2 | DEFINING OUR VISION

I’ve shared that we are gearing up to launch newly designed labels and I wanted to share more about our decision to make this change. In 2006 we began the winery in an effort to be responsible stewards of what previous generations had entrusted us with by adding value to the property and maintaining its financial viability. As Kyle has said, after four generations of hard work, we couldn’t let anything bad happen on our watch. But over the last 15 years, we’ve come to realize that our determination to continue a generational business was really just a small piece of the whole story.

In January of 2020, we took a deep dive into what we were doing and further defined our direction. Kyle and I went out of town for a few days and spent hours talking and thinking about the what’s and why’s of it all. We discussed how we invest an enormous amount of time and effort in this work and into making it the very best that we can but also that we aren’t solely driven by its profitability. We are driven by the impact on people. For the first time, we stated what had come to be true: our purpose was to have a positive influence on our guests, our team, and our community. Wine is simply the vehicle used to achieve that.

Building on this focus, we have spent many hours over the last few years to further define what that means and what our vision for the future is. Part of that has led us to redesign our logo and label. While we could have decided to simply refresh our existing label, we felt it was time to redesign it in a way that would better represent who we are. We hope that when you see the new design you won’t be struck by the change but rather by how it honors our family history and represents who we strive to be.

3 | EMBRACING HERITAGE

Previously, I mentioned that we dedicated a considerable amount of time to defining our focus and our mission for our business. Part of that led us back to the importance of our generational farming history.

To pay tribute to our farming roots, and also to our family history, we have decided to make some changes to things that may have become familiar to you. The first is our name.

While it is a minor change, we will be transitioning to the name “Harney Lane Vineyards,” rather than “Harney Lane Winery.” We truly believe that great wine begins in the vineyard with all the hard work of great farming practices carried out by great people. Thus, it naturally made sense to make this change as a way to honor that foundational part of our business.

The second change is a little closer to the heart. For the last several years we have referred to our property and its surrounding vineyards as the “Home Ranch.” This name has helped us convey to you the importance of our wines being produced from fruit that is 100% estate grown in our wonderful region. Yet we are reminded that we are the benefactors of a wonderful foundation laid by generations before us. Without their hard work and perseverance, we would never have been able to begin and grow the winery.

To honor this family legacy, we plan to rename the “Home Ranch” to “Henry Ranch.” Henry is a name common in my lineage, but it most importantly includes my Great Grandfather, Henry Schnaidt and my Father, George Henry Mettler. I hope that they would be proud of how the winery has grown and how we still choose to honor our family history by naming our ranch after them.

From what I know about my father and what I have heard about my great-grandfather, I believe they would fully support our commitment to having a positive impact on our guests, our team, and our community. I believe they would be happy to be part of it!

Cheers to you and thanks for reading along this journey.

4 | DEFINING THE ESSENCE OF WHO WE ARE

We wanted our new package to better represent who we are. While we love our original label, it really represents very little of that foundation. Last month I shared how we would be paying more tribute to our family and farming history by shortening our name to Harney Lane Vineyards and renaming our home property to Henry Ranch. These are part of the keys to having a package better represent who we are. But my favorite element is what I want to share with you today.

GRACE AND GRIT

“Grace and Grit”. These words may be two seemingly unrelated terms, but we really have come to understand that both are an essential part of who we are. With generations before us, my family worked with tenacity through the challenges that each season brings, and we continue to do so. Hard work is at the core of who we are, and we believe it is essential to creating the results that we aspire for.

We continue to strive to create graceful and elegant wines. We are committed to providing graceful and relaxing experiences. And we want you to expect that we will share graceful and kind conversations with you. I think of grace as beautiful, elegant, and kind but also as an expression of the unexpected and even undeserved. Our hope is that you always find a touch of grace when you enjoy our wines or visit our property. We hope we can provide you with a bit of reprieve from the every day in every way you encounter Harney Lane.

So, when you finally see our new label, you will find Grace & Grit represented in a few ways. You find it in the text but also in texture. May it serve as a reminder of the graceful experience we want to extend to you but also of the hard work behind it all over the many generations that have gone before us.

5 | OUR VALUES ON THE VINE

I have mentioned before that part of this process was clearly defining our direction, purpose, and vision, but additionally we spent some time defining what really matters to us and what is at the heart of who we are. Before diving into the creative process of label design, it was important to first define our core values. I am honored to share these values with you.

VIRTUE

We strive to treat others with kindness and grace. Whether you are a visitor, club member, team member or even our UPS driver, we want to take every opportunity and interaction to treat others in a way that we would want to be treated. We believe that how we treat others has a ripple effect well beyond that interaction.

INTEGRITY

We believe in doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. We believe in taking extra care to do the thing right. From hospitality to our winemaking, we believe you can’t cut corners.

NIMBLE

With generations before us, my family has been agile and responded to a multitude of challenges. We believe it’s been imperative to our survival and success. While the last few years have brought unique challenges, from a historical perspective, these are just the most recent of many things my family has already stood strong through.

EXPERIENCE

We have always believed that wine and wine tasting is about the experience. When our guests are at the winery, they are enjoying a much-needed break from the realities of life, and it is our job to go above and beyond to make that a wonderful and memorable moment.

SUSTAINABILITY

To us, sustainability is more than just being good stewards to the environment. It’s about being responsible stewards of all we have been entrusted with. Our hope is that we leave this generational business and the land that supports it better than when we started.

I hope that these values resonate and that they feel familiar to you. We may occasionally miss the mark, but these values define who we are striving to be. We want you to see these values lived out in how we do business and in how you feel when you interact with us.

6 | OUR (new brand) STORY

We are nearing the reveal of our new logo and label, but first I wanted to share our refactored brand story with you. While who we are hasn’t changed, this telling does a better job of expressing not just our history but our heart. We believe we have a responsibility to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us by the generations before us. We accept that it requires hard work to achieve great results, and we feel compelled to share that part of the story with you and hope that by doing so you will gain an even deeper appreciation for the beautiful wine in your glass. I hope that the following summation captures all of that and more.

Our brand story:

As fifth-generation farmers, we’ve learned that high-quality, handcrafted wine requires an immense amount of heart and hard work – nothing can replicate the years we’ve sown into the land and our family’s legacy. Since 1900, with focus and fortitude, we’ve learned that excellence takes endurance, distinction takes determination, and grace takes grit.

That’s why we’ve taken matters into our own hands. We pour our heart into every step of the process – from soil to shelf – we’re committed to making the best possible beverage for our customers and the planet. Our 100% estate-grown wines are produced from sustainably farmed vineyards and meticulously made with no unnecessary additives and an unwavering commitment to quality. The result is a classic collection of naturally smooth, fruit-driven wines, perfect for enjoying in everyday life.

With over a century on Henry Ranch in the heart of Lodi Wine Country, our philosophy has been and will always be: to honestly make wine that is beautifully balanced, and consciously crafted with grace and grit.®

7 | OUR NEXT CHAPTER

I have shared with you our rebranding journey, as it was very important to us that you understand why we decided to make updates. We wanted it to be very clear that we were not changing who we are but rather further defining and refining our vision and looking for better ways to share that message.

Of course, one of the most visible changes is our label. This month we will begin releasing a few new vintages with the newly designed label, but we wanted to share a sneak peek and a bit more of an explanation of its details with you.

Previously, I have shared that we found the essence of who we are centers on Grace and Grit. Hard work and determination have been required by the generations before us and are also required daily in the work that we do. But we know that it is absolutely worth it because we are passionate about the graceful results in our beautiful wines and in our welcoming experiences. Working with a designer to relay that concept in a wine label has been a joy.

To create a balance of Grace and Grit our logo, in an inscription, as well as through texture was a concept that we – as a family – all agreed on without hesitation. From the color palette to the shape, all components of our label now have significance. You will also find that we have added more details to our back label so that you have each wine’s story readily accessible. We hope that you will welcome this transition and be as excited as we are! Cheers to the next chapter and thank you for being on this journey with us!