Background

About Rickety Bridge Wine Estate

Nestled in the Franschhoek Valley of the Western Cape, Rickety Bridge Wine Estate carries more than three centuries of history. The Estate’s origins date to 1694, with its independent winemaking legacy officially recognised from 1797. Today, under the ownership of the UK-based Crosbie Family — who acquired the estate in December 2023 — Rickety Bridge continues to build on that heritage with a diverse portfolio of award-winning wines including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, and Semillon across distinct ranges.

Wine tourism is integral to the estate’s offering. Alongside a tasting room, cellar tours, and an on-site bistro-style restaurant — where South African flavours meet French bistro classics — Rickety Bridge offers a standout hospitality experience for visitors from across South Africa and abroad. Premier wedding and corporate conference facilities complete a well-rounded destination.

The Challenge

A Unique Experience Deserved a Better Finishing Touch

For just over five years, Rickety Bridge has offered a Wine Blending Experience — a guided, hands-on activity in which guests taste individual wine components, learn how the varietals interact, and experiment with percentages to craft a blend tailored entirely to their own palate. Once the blend is finalised, guests bottle it themselves, cork it, and take home a completely unique, one-of-a-kind bottle.

It’s an immersive, memorable experience — but the label on that final bottle wasn’t keeping pace with the rest of it. Until recently, guests were handed a blank label and a Koki pen to write their name on.

“The Wine Blending Experience is a special and unique activity and deserves a quality finished product. A personalised label enhances this product. Prior to installing the Epson C6000, the labels used were blank and the guest had to write their name on them with a Koki pen. The end product was diminished with the basic label.” – Ricardo Roux, Wine Tasting Centre & Club Manager

Ricardo Roux, who manages the Wine Tasting Centre and Club, was looking for a way to elevate the take-home product — something that matched the quality and craftsmanship of the experience itself. The solution needed to be flexible enough to handle groups ranging from a couple of guests to up to 50, printing single labels on demand with no setup delays.

The Solution

Epson ColorWorks CW-C6000: Professional Quality, Any Quantity,
On Demand

Rickety Bridge selected the Epson ColorWorks CW-C6000Ae after evaluating both the CW-C4000 and CW-C6000 models. The C6000 was the clear choice for their environment — its durability, superior print quality, and scalability gave them full confidence it could handle the daily demands of a busy tasting centre, from a single label for an intimate couple to a full run of 50 for a large group booking.

“We looked at both the C4000 and the C6000, but the C6000 best suited our requirements because of its durability, print quality, and scalability.”
– Ricardo Roux, Wine Tasting Centre & Club Manager

The familiarity and trust in the Epson brand was a factor, alongside a strong overall value proposition. But the real transformation came in how the printer was woven into the experience itself: paired with an AI-assisted design tool, guests now design their own personalised wine label during the blending session — and it’s printed on the spot before they leave.

The Results

An Unforeseen Outcome: The Label Is Growing the Business

The improvement to the experience was immediate. Guests love designing their own label — the creative step has become a highlight of the blending activity, and the quality of the finished bottle now genuinely reflects the care and craft that went into making it.

But Ricardo and his team discovered something they hadn’t anticipated: the personalised label has become a powerful social media driver. Guests photograph their custom-labelled bottle and share it — and those posts are bringing entirely new guests through the door.

“The guests love the process of designing their own personalised label. The quality of the finished product is enhanced, thereby delivering a superior take-home, one-of-a-kind bottle of wine. A blending experience is normally a once-off event — a guest won’t normally return a second time. However, what has transpired is that guests have been taking photos of their blended bottle with the label they designed and have shared this on social media platforms, which has led other people to book a blending experience when seeing how much fun it is. The label printing part of the experience is actually growing the business — which was an unforeseen result.” – Ricardo Roux, Wine Tasting Centre & Club Manager

Key outcomes since installing the Epson ColorWorks CW-C6000Ae:

• Guests design their own AI-powered personalised label as part of the blending session
• Print any quantity on demand — from a single label for a couple to 50 for a large group
• Premium full-colour label quality that matches the prestige of the estate
• Guests share photos of their custom bottles on social media — generating organic new bookings
• A traditionally once-off experience is now driving repeat interest through social proof
• Easy to set up, easy to use, with flexibility across a wide range of label substrates

“The product is easy to set up, easy to use, and has great flexibility in printing a wide range of different labels on various substrates. It can be used for multiple label applications within your business, making it a viable purchase.” – Ricardo Roux, Wine Tasting Centre & Club Manager

About Rickety Bridge Wine Estate — Award-winning wine estate in the Franschhoek Valley, Western Cape, offering wine tasting, cellar tours, a wine blending experience, bistro restaurant, and premier wedding and corporate venue facilities.

Contact Ricardo Roux at wtcm@ricketybridge.com or call 021-8762994.

Solution provided by Zelva Consulting — Contact Hugh Davies at hugh@zelva.co.za or call 083 600 9951 | zelva.co.za