The importance of branding strategies, either in terms of brand architecture or the role of brand heritage, has often been put in the scope for the case of larger businesses. Yet, neither aspect has been explicitly investigated in terms of its role and contribution for smaller wine businesses. Focusing on the case of local family wineries in Crete, Greece, helps us identify links with and applications of both brand architecture and brand heritage literature. Findings suggest that most wineries do not use an umbrella brand to create relevant sub-brands but tend to build upon the house of brands or endorsed brands approach. Furthermore, wineries often refer to place brand heritage but family heritage is usually the cornerstone of their branding efforts. Our conclusions confirm the need to re-develop this body of literature in a way more adequate for small, family-owned wine businesses and enrich family wine businessmen’s understanding on the branding strategies.

The present study embarks from a targeted literature review to operationalize classic models of cultural communication in the territory of official Greek tourism websites. The paper explores how cultural awareness is manifested in these spaces through their structure, content and design features vis-à-vis the needs and preferences of their users. Key trends are identified and their significance is examined. Through an exploratory qualitative research, the paper identifies the factors that affect user interfaces and argues that web possibilities are not adequately exploited to promote the Greek tourism product. Websites often do not sufficiently embed emerging technologies of the digital era to address increasingly sophisticated and technology-oriented publics. With this as the backdrop, a novel conceptualization of website evaluation is offered which can be tested empirically and evolved to support functions of cultural adjustment. A concrete structure exemplifies the model and helps illustrate the cultural awareness and sensitivity parameters involved in browsing websites that support the tourism industry. The paper concludes with diagnostic findings and improvement recommendations for destination and professional web spaces to be strategically adaptive to the increasing needs of their diverse audiences.