Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery is letting aficionados book tours or private tastings and make reservations via the company?s mobile-optimized site and applications.

Consumers can learn more about the company?s wine collection, take in-app wine notes and find a wine retailer or restaurant via the new mobile offerings. Additionally, consumers can navigate the winery with GPS-enabled maps and redeem special app-only offers.

?At Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery, we've noticed that our visitors are increasingly going mobile,? said Cheryl McMillan, public relations and advertising manager at Ferrari-Carano, Healdsburg, CA.

?Our new, free, mobile phone application makes it easier for our customers to interact with us, and access and share information about the winery and sister properties,? she said.

?They can look up tasting notes, a recipe pairing, or a video with the owners and winemakers talking about a wine, find Ferrari-Carano wine near you, book a tour or private tasting, check out events at the winery and around the area, book room reservations and Vintners Inn or dinner reservations at John Ash & Co.?

Ferrari-Carano tapped MacroView Labs to develop the mobile offerings.

Bottling the experience
The company decided to leverage mobile technology in an effort to reach new customers and enhance the experience consumers have with the winery and its sister properties, Vintners Inn, John Ash & Co., Lazy Creek Vineyards, and Seasons of the Vineyard Tasting Bar & Boutique.

Via the mobile app and site, consumers can browse a full catalog of wines and gifts, read the food and wine pairing guide that is filled with recipes and look up tour and tasting information.

Consumers can also browse the Circle of Friends wine club details and sign up for discounts, exclusive events and personalized concierge service.

?Our mobile app will allow the winery to enhance the experience customers have with us, and help them feel more a part of the Ferrari-Carano family,? said Rhonda Carano, owner/vice president of Ferrari-Carano, Healdsburg, CA.

?We see this already with Facebook and Twitter,? she said. ?Consumers want to get to know the people behind the brand ? the winemakers and the vineyard team.

?This app is one way for them to do that, while at the same time allowing us to provide worthwhile information to the consumer in a highly interactive way.?

Code language
Consumers can also bookmark information about wine tours, restaurant menus and get the word out about the app via social integrations such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and YouTube.

Ferrari-Carano has also implemented mobile bar codes on shelf talkers, bottle neckers, case cards, product cards, and advertisements.

Consumers can use their smart phones to scan the code, which points to a You Tube video of the owners and winemakers talking about a wine, a YouTube video about the winery, or a food and wine pairing on the Web site.

?We even have a built-in QR code reader in our app,? Ms. McMillan said. ?The technology allows the winery to provide a lot of information to the consumer, while the consumer benefits from an enhanced brand experience before they even make a purchase.

?It?s a great way for us to talk to our customers, or potential customers, as they?re standing in the grocery store isle, or they?re flipping through a magazine at home,? she said.

?It personalizes Ferrari-Carano. QR codes allow us to provide value-rich information to the customer in an innovative and fun way before they?ve even made their purchasing decision.?