What our winery clients say about working with 5forests

For over a decade, 5forests has partnered with wine brands across the globe to deliver strategic, data-driven digital marketing. From boutique producers to global icons, our clients come to us for winery websites, ecommerce, SEO, and campaign strategy that actually drives results. But don’t just take our word for it. Read what wineries have to say about working with the world’s leading wine marketing agency:

Partnering with 5forests to build our new website and upgrade our point-of-sale system has been a truly rewarding experience. Their team is knowledgeable, responsive, and a pleasure to work with. Since launch, we’ve seen a clear boost in customer engagement—more orders, wine club sign-ups, and new additions to our mailing list. We’re confident our site is performing at a high level and fully compliant, thanks to their expertise.

Tera Shannon & Roxanne Jackson, Shannon Family of Wines

If you want an exceptional website, we wholeheartedly recommend 5forests. Polly and Michael are hands-on, deeply knowledgeable about best practices, and bring a wealth of wine marketing expertise—plus, they’re genuinely fun to work with. When we needed to rebuild our website to integrate with Commerce7—following a failed attempt with another agency—Polly and Michael came to the rescue. They delivered a beautiful, functional, and accessible site in record time. What we especially appreciate is that they took the time to teach us best practices and empowered us to confidently maintain the site on our own.

Vicky Farrow, Proprietor, & Brain Shapiro, Estate Director, Amista Vineyards

When I first connected with Polly and Michael at 5forests, I had a strong sense that I was in good hands—and I was absolutely right. From the start, it was clear they were smart, experienced, and incredibly well-equipped to guide me through the migration from WineDirect to Commerce7. I later learned that Michael is even a contributor to the C7 coding team, which only confirmed that I was working with the best of the best.

I chose to use the complimentary migration package offered by C7 to WineDirect clients, knowing it would be a more abbreviated version of a full website build. Even so, Polly and Michael treated the project with a high level of care and professionalism. The 5forests team promised to deliver an elevated version of my existing site—and they absolutely delivered on that promise, and then some.

Polly created a site that perfectly captured the essence of my brand. It feels both sophisticated and homegrown, which is exactly the tone we were going for. Beyond aesthetics, she completely reimagined how we present information, making it more user-friendly and engaging. She also gave me the freedom to play with formats, fonts, and colors—making the process collaborative and creatively fulfilling.

Michael helped me navigate the more complex features of Commerce7 with ease. He demystified plugins, personalization blocks, and dynamic content—ushering me (finally!) into the 21st century. He also shared valuable insights on backend optimization and SEO strategy, which I really appreciated and will deploy myself.

Throughout the entire process, both Polly and Michael were responsive, courteous, and thoughtful in their approach. I was mindful of their time and the limited scope of this project, but even within those boundaries, they consistently went above and beyond. It was clear they cared not just about completing the migration, but about how my brand would be presented and perceived.

I had a good feeling about working with 5forests from the very beginning, and I’m so grateful I trusted that instinct. I hope I have the privilege of collaborating with them again on future projects.

Elise Nerlove, Owner, Elkhorn Peak Cellars

5forests’ curiosity and expertise made our website project smooth and easy. From onboarding to launch, they demonstrated a level of professionalism that gave us confidence in our site. No detail was overlooked and no question was trivial. I can easily recommend their work to colleagues and know they will share the same experience.

Elizabeth Clark, Argyle Winery

Working with 5forests since 2020 has been transformative for our family business. Their profound industry knowledge and practical innovations have been invaluable… ensuring our nascent winery thrives in the direct-to-consumer market.

Michael Franzia, Clark Ferrea Winery

5forests has been a valuable partner for Anaba Wines. Their expertise in website development and maintenance, particularly with Commerce7, has streamlined our online operations. They understand the wine industry, are ahead of industry trends, and effectively work with our team to provide tailored solutions that meet our specific requirements. We appreciate their responsive and proactive approach.

Michelle Hogan, Anaba Wines

Rarely do you find someone who is so up on trends in both tech and wine, who also has empathy for the consumer. 5forests’ professionalism, expertise, great listening, and marketing guidance will help me way beyond just my new site launch.

Elizabeth Schneider, Wine for Normal People

Polly Hammond is the rare combination of expertise and generosity. Her marketing knowledge is deep and wide, and she is equally able to build efficient and profitable brand strategies as she is to elegantly design a website or a publication. But more importantly, her constant smile, warmth and genuine willingness to help coupled with her track record of success (both in terms of improving processes and results) makes her the perfect ally to any serious winery or retailer.

Pauline Vicard, CEO, Areni Global

5forests has exceeded our wildest expectations. Polly Hammond and her team are some of the sharpest minds in the business. They put their ideas and expertise to work for you instantly — and never stop.

Their focus on tailoring the solution to fit the client is second to none. It comes down to this: they listen. They listened to what we needed then put their endless expertise and energy to work for us. They listened when we came back with questions and concerns. In a world of busy, we are continuously made to feel that we, and our concerns, matter. 

From day one, we knew that 5forests was part of our team. That creative solutions and success were a shared goal. Best of all? Whether it’s a strategy meeting or a website build out, 5forests makes the toughest challenges feel easy and fun. There’s never any doubt that Polly and her team are as invested in our vision as we are. 

5forests reminds us again and again to think big, take chances, talk honestly, and hold ourselves to high standards — theirs.

Paula Redes Sidore & Valerie Kathawala, Founders, TRINK Magazine

The website paid for itself in a month.

Avi Leibzon, Sweet Wine Club

Working with Polly and her team at 5forests has been a game changer for us. As an international think tank, Areni Global produces a lot of rich content, so much that we were a bit lost when it came to communicating and publishing. Because Polly has a broad global understanding of the fine wine and luxury world, combined with her sharp curiosity and big listening skills, she was able to help us create a real, powerful brand identity and gather all our ideas in one impactful marketing plan that has already proven successful to a new array of members. Our weekly meeting is one of my favourite moments of the week as I know it will be full of both creative ideas and progress on implementation.

Pauline Vicard, CEO, Areni Global

Frankly, I could not have done it without Polly. Her skill set, experience and knowledge in this field are literally the most proficient I have ever come across. Polly has a unique analytical approach to a task. This combined with her natural high EQ enabled us to fast track our work, get things done and get them done right – first time. Polly’s leadership skills are second to none. She listens carefully and questions, absorbing the challenge/issue and working through best practice solutions every time.

Sue D., New Zealand

We needed a respected and knowledgeable third party to review, evaluate, and critique ACORN’s website, and you totally delivered. Your work helped us focus on key changes needed to improve the user experience quality, and to encourage more folks visit/buy. Your audit provided us exactly what we needed. You provided us with a comprehensive, informative, and valuable overview, that included actionable recommendations, and guidance. Your style, (both professional, and friendly), made the process painless, and we look forward, to continuing to work together.

Betsy & Bill Nachbaur, ACORN Winery

A strategy workshop with Polly was all about finding out who we are, who we say we are and what others say we are. We know now why customers will choose our brand over another and we have a clear brand statement which goes hand in hand with all our solid, engaging and social media savvy (very important nowadays) communications internally and externally. Polly won’t just boost your brand with the energy and passion to succeed but she is hands-on involved in the planning, strategy and execution of the brand discovery. She makes you discover who you are to realize who you want to be.

Jemma Grobbelaar, JG Wine & Drinks

Ready to grow your wine business with a marketing team that gets it?

Whether you’re looking for a strategic partner to overhaul your winery website, increase DTC sales, or finally get clarity on your marketing ROI, we’re here to help. At 5forests, we don’t offer cookie-cutter solutions. We bring data, creativity, and deep wine industry expertise to every project.

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Let’s talk about what’s next for your winery.

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