The Web Winery archive the original site, 1995-2005

The story of Web Winery

Jan and Ken Aull

Web Winery was the work of Jan and Ken Aull, who ran it as Aull-N-Aull WebWinery. Their own page on the site says Jan left the defense industry after 16 years to found Aull-N-Aull, that the Web Winery went online on September 15, 1995, and that it began taking secure card orders on Thanksgiving Day that year¹.

A wine shop that built websites

The Aulls described it as the mail-order wine catalog of the 1990s, without the paper². Each winery had its own small set of pages, with its history, its wines, maps, events, recipes and newsletters, which Aull-N-Aull built and kept current. Customers ordered online or by a toll-free number, and the wine was shipped from the winery itself rather than from a warehouse^2,3. The front page carried the wineries' monthly specials: Bargetto and Roudon-Smith had one every month^2,6.

For the wineries the deal was simple: Aull-N-Aull built and kept up their pages at no charge and earned a commission on the wine it sold⁴. In 1999 its brochure listed 35 members, from Ahlgren to Woodside, and said it kept more than 1,000 pages for 30-plus wineries; the welcome page that year spoke of 37^2,4. Most were small family wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with others from the Santa Clara Valley, Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and the Russian River². Roudon-Smith even made a wine for the shop alone, Clos du Web, with a label the Aulls designed².

The shop sold more than wine: books about wine and the region, cellar software, wine bags and gadgets, and prints of vineyard watercolors². They are listed under what the shop sold.

Members of the trade

Aull-N-Aull was a business associate member of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, whose own pages it hosted, and an associate member of Family Winemakers of California^2,9. It offered any wine association a free website in exchange for an associate membership⁴. The association's history, news and festival pages are kept in the regional archive.

The end of the shop

By June 2004 the brochure listed 20 member wineries⁵, while the front page that December still spoke of 30³. The list of regions had grown to include Calaveras and the Central Coast⁷. In spring 2005 the shop closed. Pages saved in May 2005 open with a notice that it had stopped selling wine and that, because of the owners' retirement, the webwinery.com domain was for sale: "We are sorry, but we are no longer selling wine on this website."⁸

Timeline, 1995 to 2005

1. September 15, 1995

   Aull-N-Aull WebWinery goes online, by the shop's own account.¹

2. Thanksgiving Day, 1995

   Secure card ordering begins.¹

3. January 1997

   The Wayback Machine's earliest capture of any webwinery.com address.¹³

4. December 1998

   The earliest saved capture of the home page; most winery pages are first captured that month too.¹³

5. 1999

   Wineries listed by appellation; the welcome page counts 37 wineries, the brochure 35 members.^2,4

6. May 2000

   Artisan Wines is the newest winery, and Hallcrest's Organic Wine Works line is featured.⁶

7. February 2004

   Calaveras and the Central Coast are added to the regions.⁷

8. June 2004

   The brochure lists 20 member wineries.⁵

9. December 2004

   The last full front page in the archive, with offers from 16 wineries and Green Family Winery as the newest.³

10. May 2005

    The pages carry the closing notice: no more wine sales, and the domain for sale.⁸

Winery archives

The wineries that published the most on the original site. Every other winery's profile ends with a short "From the archives" section.

• Bargetto Winery, 1998-2005 · 27 dated entries · today: Open
• Hagafen Cellars, 1998-2005 · 14 dated entries · today: Open
• Hallcrest Vineyards, 1998-2005 · 15 dated entries · today: Open
• Roudon-Smith Winery, 1998-2005 · 21 dated entries · today: Open
• Salamandre Wine Cellars, 1998-2005 · 48 dated entries · today: No longer trading

Press coverage, 1996-2003 · Santa Cruz Mountains association archive

The shipping-law campaign

Shipping wine straight to customers in other states was a running fight in the 1990s, and a shop that shipped from the winery to the customer depended on it. The page below was not the Aulls' own writing: under the headline "National Alert for a National Disgrace," Aull-N-Aull republished a wine writer's message from America Online¹⁰. The shop also posted a "major news flash" on an August 1997 Florida court ruling against that state's shipping law, with reprinted newspaper reports¹².

1. On Web Winery by January 1999

   National alert for a national disgrace, 1997

   A message dated January 16, 1997, posted on America Online by a wine writer who signed as the Wine Curmudgeon, which the shop republished. It warned that Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi were following Kentucky in making it a felony to ship wine to consumers from another state, blamed the wholesalers, and urged readers to write to their legislators and newspapers.

   Letter · old address /alert.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

Letter to Willie Brown

This letter is not the Aulls' either. It was written by Valerie Ahlgren of Ahlgren Vineyard, and the shop published it¹¹.

1. January 19, 1996

   An open letter to Mayor Willie Brown, 1996

   A tongue-in-cheek letter of January 19, 1996, signed by Valerie Ahlgren of Ahlgren Vineyard, telling San Francisco's new mayor that his city sits at the northern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, so it should pour its own region's wines rather than Napa's. It ends by inviting him down Skyline Boulevard to taste them.

   San Francisco is the Queen City of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

   Letter · old address /A-N-A/Willie-Brown

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

Memberships

Pages from the original site about Family Winemakers of California and Friends of the Winemakers (in the regional archive).

1. On Web Winery by April 1999

   Family Winemakers of California

   A short page on the association, which the shop belonged to as an associate member: founded in 1991, with more than 300 member wineries, one vote each, it represented California table wine before lawmakers and regulators.

   Winery page · old address /FWC/FWC.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

What the shop sold besides wine

Gifts, gadgets, software and art the shop carried:

• Cator velvet wine bags
• Collectware "Cellar!" software
• Maggie Blackwell (artist, giclee prints)
• Meritage wine gifts
• Osocalis Distillery (brandy, Soquel; still trading)
• Saratoga Wine Works wine cards
• Spirit Saver
• Wine Saver (EZ-Vac)
• Wine Technologies cellar software

1. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Maggie Blackwell: framing notes

   How the Blackwell prints were framed.

   Photographs · old address /Blackwell/Framing.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

2. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Maggie Blackwell: what is a giclee?

   How the Blackwell prints were made.

   Photographs · old address /Blackwell/Giclee.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

3. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Osocalis cidery and distillery

   The Santa Cruz Mountains apple-brandy and cider maker's page on the shop.

   Winery page · old address /Osocalis/

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

4. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Saratoga Wine Works wine cards

   Greeting cards with a wine theme.

   Winery page · old address /SaratogaWineWorks/SaratogaWineWorks.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

5. On Web Winery by February 1999

   Maggie Blackwell, vineyard watercolors

   Prints of Maggie Blackwell's vineyard watercolors, sold through the shop.

   Winery page · old address /Blackwell/

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

6. On Web Winery by April 1999

   Cator Enterprises wine bags

   Velvet wine bags sold as gifts.

   Winery page · old address /Cator/Cator.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

7. On Web Winery by April 1999

   Spirit Saver

   A beverage-dispensing gadget made by an employer of disabled workers.

   Winery page · old address /SpiritSaver/SpiritSaver.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

8. June 2000

   Wine Saver

   A gadget for keeping opened wine.

   Winery page · old address /WineSaver/WineSaver.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

9. On Web Winery by August 2000

   The Meritage Co.: Le Collier

   Wine-bottle collars and other wine gifts.

   Winery page · old address /Meritage/Meritage.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

10. On Web Winery by October 2000

    Collectware Cellar! software

    Cellar-management software sold in the gift shop.

    Winery page · old address /Cellar/Cellar.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

11. On Web Winery by January 2001

    About Robert Parker

    About the critic whose ratings came with Wine Technologies' cellar software.

    Winery page · old address /winetechnologies/rparker.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

12. April 2003

    Wine Technologies cellar software

    Robert Parker's Wine Advisor and Cellar Manager, cellar software the shop sold.

    Winery page · old address /WineTechnologies/WineTechnologies.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

13. Date unknown

    Cator Enterprises (folder page)

    The folder address of the Cator wine-bag page; the saved copy has no text of its own.

    Winery page · old address /Cator

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

14. Date unknown

    The Meritage Co. (folder page)

    The folder address of the Le Collier page; the saved copy has no text of its own.

    Winery page · old address /Meritage

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

15. Date unknown

    Spirit Saver (folder page)

    The folder address of the Spirit Saver page; the saved copy has no text of its own.

    Winery page · old address /SpiritSaver

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

Other pages from the original shop

1. August 29, 1997

   Major news flash: the Florida shipping ruling, 1997

   Aull-N-Aull's short note telling customers in states that blocked wine shipments that relief was near, followed by reprinted Palm Beach Post and St. Petersburg Times reports of August 29 and 30, 1997 on a Leon County judge's ruling against Florida's direct-shipping law.

   Shop page · old address /a-n-a/flash.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

2. On Web Winery by December 1998

   How to order

   Step-by-step ordering instructions: pick a winery or gift shop, add wines to the cart, review the order and pay by card or by phone.

   Shop list · old address /a-n-a/ordersteps.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

3. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Wine and gifts by price

   An index of wines and gifts sorted into price bands.

   Shop list · old address /A-N-A/Price.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

4. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Secure ordering

   How the shop protected card orders with SSL encryption on its WebSTAR server, with a Verisign certificate.

   Shop page · old address /A-N-A/Secure.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

5. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Welcome to Aull-N-Aull WebWinery, 1999

   The shop's welcome page in September 1999: wineries listed by appellation (Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara Valley, Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Anderson Valley, Russian River), monthly specials, and the shop's pitch: 37 wineries, wine shipped straight from the winery, secure ordering or a toll-free number. It also announced Clos du Web, a wine Roudon-Smith made for the shop alone, with a label designed by Jan and Ken Aull.

   We believe that the WebWinery is an example of the mail-order catalog of the 1990s.

   Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

6. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Aull-N-Aull's gift shop, 2004

   A later version of the gift shop's front page.

   Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/Aull-N-Aull.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

7. On Web Winery by December 1998

   The shop's front page, December 2004

   The last full version of the shop's front page in the archive: a long list of month-by-month offers from 16 wineries, then Aull-N-Aull's description of itself as an online mail-order wine catalog shipping straight from the wineries, a member of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and of Family Winemakers of California, representing 30 wineries.

   Winery page · old address /aull.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

8. On Web Winery by December 1998

   Jan and Ken Aull, founders

   A photograph of the founders, Jan and Ken Aull, with a few lines: Jan left the defense industry after 16 years to start Aull-N-Aull, and the Web Winery went online on September 15, 1995, taking secure orders from Thanksgiving Day that year.

   Photographs · old address /Images/JKPhoto.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

9. On Web Winery by December 1998

   How to join the Web Winery, 1999

   Aull-N-Aull's brochure for wineries and wine associations: a winery's pages were built and kept up free, and the shop earned a commission on wine sold; associations got a free site in exchange for an associate membership. It listed 35 members and said the shop kept over 1,000 pages for 30-plus wineries.

   Shop page · old address /you.html

   Original page: Wayback Machine copy

10. On Web Winery by January 1999

    Friends of the Web Winery

    Links to other sites the shop recommended: Aull-N-Aull's own web-building business, a gift shop, a grocery and others.

    Shop page · old address /A-N-A/Friends.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

11. On Web Winery by January 1999

    Aull-N-Aull's gift shop

    The gift shop's front page: cellar software, tasting logs, Santa Cruz Mountains Passports and books.

    Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

12. On Web Winery by February 1999

    Attention, organic wine customers

    An alert to organic wine buyers about the federal rules then being written under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which proposed allowing sulfur dioxide in wine labeled organic; it asked readers to send comments in time.

    Shop page · old address /a-n-a/atten.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

13. On Web Winery by April 1999

    A consumer friendly guide to wine eloquence

    A joke contributed by Salamandre Wine Cellars: three numbered columns of adverbs, adjectives and nouns to string together into tasting notes, 729 combinations in all.

    History · old address /A-N-A/Consumer.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

14. On Web Winery by September 1999

    Gifts by category

    The gift catalog's index: clothing, gourmet food, grape juice, books, cellar software, wine accessories and SCMWA Passports.

    Shop list · old address /biz-gifts

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

15. On Web Winery by December 1999

    Elvis A. Eagle, a novel: the prologue

    The opening of C.R. Sinclair's novel Elvis A. Eagle: A Magical Adventure, one of the books the shop sold.

    Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/Eagle/prolog.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

16. On Web Winery by December 1999

    Elvis A. Eagle, a novel: the synopsis

    The publisher's synopsis of C.R. Sinclair's fable about a bald eagle hatched by a chicken.

    Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/Eagle/Synopsis.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

17. On Web Winery by December 1999

    Vineyards in the Sky: the authors

    About Eleanor Ray and Barbara Marinacci, authors of Vineyards in the Sky, the life of the Santa Cruz Mountains vintner Martin Ray, which the shop sold.

    Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/VineyardsAuthor.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

18. On Web Winery by December 1999

    Vineyards in the Sky: reviews

    Reviews of Vineyards in the Sky gathered by the shop.

    Winery page · old address /Aull-N-Aull/VineyardsReviews.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

19. On Web Winery by May 2000

    How to join the Web Winery, 2004

    The same brochure in June 2004, now listing 20 member wineries, from Artisan to Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, and over 1,000 pages for 20-plus wineries. It also offered websites for businesses that didn't sell online.

    Shop page · old address /a-n-a/you.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

20. On Web Winery by July 2000

    Customer service

    The shop's contact page.

    Shop page · old address /A-N-A/customerservice.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

21. On Web Winery by August 2000

    Privacy statement

    The shop's privacy promise: customer e-mail addresses were used only for orders and the shop's own news, and the customer list was never shared or sold.

    Shop page · old address /A-N-A/privacystatement.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

22. On Web Winery by June 2003

    Regions and associations, 2004

    The shop's list of the appellations it covered in 2004: Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara Valley, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Russian River, Calaveras and the Central Coast.

    History · old address /A-N-A/Regions.html

    Original page: Wayback Machine copy

About this archive

Each old page here has its date, what kind of page it was, a short summary and a link to the Wayback Machine's copy, where the original can still be read. Prices, specials and order forms are long out of date and are left out. Newspaper pieces are listed by paper, date and headline in the press archive.

The wineries' recipes are in the Winery Kitchen, and each winery's current details are on its profile. Old logos and pictures of old pages appear as dated exhibits; the pictures are redrawn from the saved pages, so some of their images are missing.

Web Winery today

ten24 bought the webwinery.com domain from Aull-N-Aull, and Web Winery is now a guide to California's small wineries, including the ones the original site carried. The new site is ten24's work. The pages summarized in this archive were written by Aull-N-Aull, the wineries and the people they published, and the credit is theirs.