CASE STUDY:
Wet Hot Wine
Portland, OR | wethotwine.com
The Background
Wet Hot Wine is a podcast for people who love wine — or are just starting to. Four friends, a microphone, and a lot of bottles to open. When the podcast launched, it needed more than a Spotify link. It needed a home: a place to build a brand, share episodes, and create a resource that kept listeners coming back.
Everything about this project started at zero — no existing brand, no website, no assets. That made it both a wide-open creative opportunity and a significant undertaking.
The Challenge
Launching a brand-new podcast comes with a unique set of challenges. Without an existing identity or platform, every decision had to be made from scratch:
No brand to build on. There was no logo, no color palette, no voice, no visual direction. Before a single page could be designed, the brand itself had to be created — and it had to feel fun, approachable, and memorable.
No central hub. Spotify and YouTube are great distribution platforms, but they don’t give you much control over how your content is presented or how you connect with your audience. The podcast needed its own website — a place to go deeper, showcase episodes, and build a community.
A wine-tasting show needs a wine directory. With every episode featuring wines the hosts taste on-air, there was an opportunity to build something genuinely useful: a searchable, filterable directory where listeners could look up every wine that had ever been featured on the show. That kind of feature doesn’t come out of the box.
The Approach
With no existing constraints to work within, the process started with brand development. The goal was a look and feel that matched the podcast’s personality — casual, warm, and a little playful, but still polished enough to feel credible. That brand identity then informed every design decision on the website, keeping everything cohesive from day one.
Research into similar podcasts and wine-focused websites helped shape what the site needed to do well: easy episode discovery, a clean listening experience, and a resource that gave wine-curious visitors a reason to keep exploring. Building in WordPress allowed for full customization — especially important for the more complex functionality the site required.
The Solution
Brand identity created from scratch. A full visual identity was developed for Wet Hot Wine — including logo, color palette, typography, and overall design language — establishing a consistent, recognizable brand across the website and beyond.
Custom WordPress website. The site was designed and built in WordPress to serve as the podcast’s primary hub, giving the show a professional home that Spotify and YouTube simply can’t provide.
Custom wine directory with filtering. A standout feature of the site is the custom-built wine directory — powered by custom post types and a filtering system — that catalogs every wine tasted on the podcast. Visitors can browse and filter by varietal, region, episode, and more, turning the site into a genuinely useful resource for wine lovers.
Integrated audio players. Episode audio players were embedded directly into the site so visitors can listen without leaving — keeping them engaged and on the page longer.
Contact forms and shop integration. A contact form was added for listener outreach, and links to the podcast’s online shop were integrated throughout the site to support the brand beyond the episodes themselves.
Complete content and messaging. With a brand-new project, every word on the site needed to be written from scratch — from episode descriptions to About page copy — all in a voice that matched the fun, unpretentious spirit of the show.
The Results
Wet Hot Wine launched with a complete brand identity and a fully functional website that goes well beyond what most podcasts offer their audiences. What started as an idea between friends became a polished, professional digital presence built to grow with the show.
- A distinct, cohesive brand identity created entirely from scratch
- A custom wine directory that gives listeners a searchable resource no other podcast in the space offers
- A central hub for episodes, content, and community that the team fully owns and controls
- Integrated audio, shop links, and contact functionality — everything a growing podcast needs in one place
What This Project Demonstrates
Wet Hot Wine is a reminder that branding and web design aren’t just for established businesses — they’re what help new ones get established in the first place. When everything is built from scratch with intention, the result is more than a website. It’s a cohesive identity that gives an audience a reason to show up, stay, and come back. From the visual brand to the custom wine directory, every piece of this project was designed to grow with the show.
