Make Merry!

Is your winery’s entrance decorated with a holiday theme yet?

Maybe you don’t have an allée of tall sycamores whose trunks you could outline in red lights….maybe you don’t have a 30’ tall stainless steel creature jumping out of the vineyards (who might wear a Santa hat)….

But your winery probably has a gate or a fence. Or some type of trees or landscaping. Or a sign, however big or small. We’d suggest you get in the spirit, especially in these tough times. Decorate! Doesn’t have to be red and green. You could stay with all white lights, or an ecumenical approach with a rainbow of colors. What about a Burma-shave type progressive story told along the fence?

Maybe you could arrange for a herd of artificial reindeer who raise and lower their heads, all the while blinking merrily away?  The Phoenix Zoo is famous for its holiday light program, where visitors stroll through the zoo in the dark enjoying another dimension of storytelling.

In these tough times, even a whimsical approach to holiday décor will endear you to customers, passers-by and your own winery family of employees.

Picture of photograph of animal being projected upon the facade of St. Peters Basilica

Just as I’m writing this I came across an amazing son et lumiere ‘show’ the Vatican launched this week as a statement about climate change and endangered species. You can read about it and enjoy a video here, and see photos here, here and here. What a great and savvy combination of message and magic!

And what the Vatican has done is a reminder that there’s another approach: use your building façade as a canvas. If you live in the Napa Valley, you’ve seen how the city of St. Helena projects snowflakes on buildings along Main Street.

Share what you come up with — post a photo of what you do here at SWIG!

Merry and happy to all!