DISCOUNT WINE CELLARS

Have you ever tried to access a website which looked really interesting or helpful, only to discover that you needed to be a code-breaker to enter that site? No noticable 'enter' or 'contact' or even 'help, my computer literacy age is 2 1/2'?
At 'Smashing Magazine' they know how you feel, and have come up with a list of 40 really good websites (which does not mean these are the only good websites, but they have lives). By 'good' I mean 'easy to use.' If you want to know which wine goes with which type of food, your answer is easily discovered. Tasting notes of interest to you? No problem, there's a button to press for that too. No longer is the wine-loving community only interested in the size of their wine cellars: a computer is the essential wine accessory.
I chose three of the best, not for their wine, but for the 'fun factor' of their websites. Some are just too dull or elegant, no matter how easy they are to use. Lots of wine and text. On the other hand, who wouldn't be curious about a winery named 'Three Blind Moose'? Depicted on the various screens for this website are a number of very relaxed moose in shades, against a backdrop of yellow and black. The impact of this simple design is stunning and alluring. Descriptions of wines are full of humorous asides in parentheses, supporting the casual and funny atmosphere of the whole website. The recipe cards for the various courses and wine pairings are especially clever and homey.
'Red Bicyclette' has designed their webpage to make one yearn for a trip to Southern France. Postcards,centuries-old buildings, rural scenes: these combine with a quiet rural appeal to suggest that these wines are part of the best, civilized kind of holiday. Again, the links are easy to find and to use. Included are some recipes, though they are not specifically paired with wines. I think they are French (definitely yummy).
Finally, in place of the boring word 'loading' flashing incessantly from the centre of your screen, at 'Dancing Bull' there is the slow delineation of a bull. Warm rays of sun peer over a coastal scene, including an array of other pictures from California life (I guess). This is a stunning webpage and easy to use.
All of which means that even a computer-dummy like me can navigate her way through more wine information and recipes than she could eat and drink in a year, though I'll give it my best shot.

Labels: 108 bottle modular wine cellar, big bottle wine cellars, California, Discount Wine Cellars, south of france, websites