One foot in the barrel, the other in a QR code?

As with all progression, it has to happen in small steps. Nobody climbed Everest without stopping along the way to prepare for the next step. Today we are taking the first step in a positive direction for our wine labels. At Haut Espoir we want to create more interaction with you, the consumer, in a fun, personal way. Our wines are personal, after all. Each year specific to its circumstance.

By now I know you are wondering what that funny little shape is in the image “pen” today. That, friends, is a QR Code.

A quick refresher on QR codes for the uninitiated. QR codes are a very useful tool for pointing people to more information about your product. This is how it works. You take a photo of the QR code with your phone with a bar code reader and you are automatically taken to the web site that is embedded in the code. This only works with smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry or Droid phones, but these are the most popular phones these days, so a huge number of people now have this capability.

In the wine business this is particularly useful as people can be browsing a wine store or sitting in a restaurant and read reviews about the wine or learn something unique about the origin of the wine.

QR codes help us build a bridge from the offline to the online world. We would like to send every one of you who are considering purchasing our product (or have just made the wise decision to buy some of it) to a special page on your web site where you can provide you with more information. QR codes allow us to do just that. We will be able to create competitions and point you to places to discover more on the uniqueness of this piece of land.

For instance, if you have downloaded a QR code reader and took a photo of that QR code on the page it would take you directly to http://www.hautespoir.com on your mobile phone.

Look out for QR Codes on our labels soon. Use them. You may learn something, or even better, win something.