Overall, I think the new design is much less cluttered and easier to navigate. Under the old design, even after months of using the site daily, I still found myself hunting for links in the sidebar. One day into the new design, that is no longer a problem. As for the colors (which clash with my blue/gray desktop), well, I think no matter what colors they chose, someone wouldn't like it, and using a wine-toned palette for WineHQ is at least a logical choice.
