Winery email marketing tips aren’t just about what you write. They’re about how your emails are designed. Small choices like logo links, header navigation, and footer layout directly impact clicks, conversions, and sales. The best winery emails balance storytelling and selling through intentional, tested winery email template design.
The Great Winery Email Debates
Should your logo link to your homepage or your shop?
Do you really need header navigation, or is it quietly killing your clicks?
And what about social icons in the footer: smart brand touchpoints, or sales sabotage?
If you’ve ever gone a few rounds in the “email template design” debate with your team, you’re not alone. Wineries wrestle with these small but mighty design decisions all the time. And while they may seem like harmless formatting choices, they actually shape your subscribers’ behavior, and your sales.
Because here’s the truth: your email design isn’t just how it looks. It’s how it sells.
In this episode, I’m breaking down the spiciest email design debates in the wine industry. Hear both sides, my take, and what we’re testing right now to discover which layouts actually drive more wine sales.
Debate #1: The Logo Link
Option A: Always to your homepage. It tells your brand story, shows off your vineyard, builds connection.
Option B: Straight to the shop. Less friction, more conversions.
My take: If it’s a promo-driven email, send them straight to the shop. If it’s a story-driven or nurture email, the homepage is perfect.
Think about the job of the email. If the goal is “Buy this Pinot,” don’t distract them with your About page. If it’s “Reconnect with our harvest story,” give them a taste of your brand first.
Debate #2: Header Navigation
Option A: Keep it. Helps people self-select what they’re interested in.
Option B: Ditch it. Removes distractions and keeps focus on your main CTA.
My take: It depends on your audience’s behavior. For some wineries, navigation actually increases total clicks because subscribers use it to explore club info, visit hours, or current releases. For others, nav bars tank conversions because they split attention.
The only real way to know? Test it. Try a clean, single-CTA layout against your full nav and compare click-to-purchase rates. Not sure how to run a fair test? Here are three simple A/B tests any winery can run this month.
Debate #3: Social Links in the Footer
Option A: Include them. They’re free brand touchpoints.
Option B: Remove them. They lead people off your email and into distraction-land.
My take: Add social icons only if they support the campaign goal. If you’re promoting a contest, reel, or story, link away. But if you’re trying to sell wine, don’t hand Instagram your customer’s attention.
Debate #4: The Monster Footer
Option A: Keep it short and compliant.
Option B: Stuff it with tasting room hours, address, disclaimers, and everything since 2009.
My take: Minimal compliance, maximum breathing room. No one scrolls to your footer for romance. They scroll for the unsubscribe link. Your footer should reinforce trust, not overwhelm it. Include the essentials (unsubscribe, contact, physical address), and make it match your brand visually.
Bonus Round: The Email Mavens Team Debates
When I asked our team what other “email arguments” they’d love to settle, we came up with a whole flight:
- Emojis in subject lines: yes or no? (We took a first swing at this in subject line mistakes wineries keep making.)
- Image-heavy vs. text-based emails
- Mobile-first vs. desktop design
- Copy-rich storytelling vs. short and summarized
- One email, one job vs. one email with multiple jobs
We’ll be testing all of these in upcoming winery campaigns, and sharing the real data soon.
So… Which Side Are You On?
Share this post with your team and spark the debate. And when the argument comes down to structure, settle it with the three winery email templates that consistently convert.
Ready to stop guessing and start testing your emails? That’s exactly what we do together inside Mavens On Demand: bring your layout debates, your drafts, and your data, and we’ll settle them with real results instead of opinions.
Winery Email Template Design FAQs
Should a winery email logo link to the homepage or the shop?
It depends on the job of the email. Promotional emails should send the logo click straight to the shop; story and nurture emails can send it to the homepage. Decide per campaign, not once for the whole template.
Does header navigation hurt email conversions?
Sometimes. For some wineries it adds clicks because subscribers use it to explore club, visit, and release pages. For others it splits attention away from the main button. Run a test: single-CTA layout against full nav, and compare click-to-purchase, not just clicks.
Should social media icons go in the email footer?
Only when they support the campaign’s goal. A contest or reel promotion can link out. A wine-selling email shouldn’t hand a customer’s attention to Instagram right at the point of purchase.
What has to be in a winery email footer?
The compliance essentials: unsubscribe link, contact method, and physical address. Everything else (hours, disclaimers, history) is optional and usually belongs elsewhere. Keep it short, on brand, and easy to scan.
