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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Friday, 10 November 2006 |
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Erin Hooley |
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Stefanie and Matt Haines are the co-owners of Quattro Vino in Fort Collins.
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Ever walk into a liquor store only to stare blankly at the endless aisles of bottles of wine?
From the shelves, the decorative labels, fancy words and vast price tags can intimidate shoppers. Finding the perfect wine can be a daunting task, even for a frequent wine drinker.
Knowing this, Matt and Stefanie Haines opened Quattro Vino, a specialty wine store at 4019 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, in August.
“Our concept comes from the fact that we are not typical wine experts,” Matt said. “We try to make it easy. We enjoy wine. We enjoy drinking wine, but I would not categorize us as wine enthusiasts. The product is the expert, so you don’t need to rely on a person.”
What makes Quattro Vino different is that the wine is sold in four-packs. Quattro Vino groups wines by region, taste profile, grapes and situation. The idea is to make trying new wines easier and more customer friendly.
Packs range from $30-$130. Individual bottles are also available.
“So often people buy the same things over and over again,” Stefanie said. “You get stuck in a rut and don’t know what’s out there. You think, that’s a cute label and it’s $10, so it must be good.”
The clean lines and simple and bright atmosphere give the store a fresh, urban feel. Carefully grouped wine packs line the wall and sophisticated table displays showcase wine accessories.
Matt, who has a background in software development, wrote all the software for the new business. Originally, Matt envisioned a pure online operation — Quattro Vino is also a “click and order” wine store, where orders can be placed online at qvwines.com and shipped across the country — in addition to being bought in the store.
Stefanie has a background in education and was an elementary school principal before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
“Now that the kids are in school, I can do something new,” she said.
Matt said it is his wife’s management and organizational skills that really drive the business. “She’s the driver, I’m just the software guy,” he said.
Though the business is still getting started, Matt and Stefanie have discussed the idea of eventually franchising the company.
So far, their 4-pack idea has been well received. Stefanie said one customer opens all of the bottles in a pack and samples them against each other, before vacuum sealing them.
“It’s just fun to pick a pack,” Matt said. “It’s the sense of exploration.”
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WINE TASTINGS
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• Quattro Vino hosts free wine tastings from 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays.
• A holiday open house featuring wine tastings, food and gifts is set for 4-8 p.m. Nov. 30.
matt’s favorite
Baileyana Pinot Noir out of California
stefanie’s favorite
Quarterback from Australia
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VITAL STATS
Names: Matt and Stefanie Haines
Company: Quattro Vino, 4019 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, www.qvwines.com
Title: Co-owners
How long have you worked there? Six months
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IN HIS WORDS
What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
Getting up is easy — my kids take care of that.
What is it about this job that makes it challenging?
Challenging is also easy — marketing, software development and business development are constant challenges that are both fun and exciting.
Things that impress you?
Impressed by people willing to try new things.
Things that don’t.
Not impressed by people who already know everything.
How do young/new employees get ahead?
Professional attitude, willingness to take on new tasks.
Did you ever think in a million years you’d work here?
Before a year ago when I started planning, no. I thought I’d always be a software hack.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you do?
Lots of things, which I still do, like teaching at the university and managing software projects in the corporate sector.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done while at work? Smartest?
Dumbest is probably deciding to write all of our Web and application software. Also the smartest decision.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever done to make money?
TV game shows.
Any interesting anecdotes?
We spent a long time designing our box and when we went to ship our first one, realized we didn’t have a place for a label.
What’s the biggest payoff in your job?
Satisfaction of seeing online orders from random and anonymous customers throughout the U.S.
What’s the one thing you wish you could do on the job that you can’t right now?
Run the business from Maui.
What do you do during your breaks?
Breaks? Funny.
What’s one thing about your job you would do, even if you weren’t paid to do it?
Talk with customers, which I’m accused of doing too often.
Name one thing in your life that really prepared you for your job.
Parents who demonstrated a strong work ethic will always keep your head above water.
Are you the boss? Do you think you should be?
Yes, though I share the title with my wife Stefanie. She certainly should be.
What do you do when you’re not at work?
Funny. Actually spend time with our girls.
Pets? Family?
Two little girls, Emma and Abby.
Favorite TV shows. Movies. Books.
“Art of the Start” buy Guy Kowalski, “Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell and “Calvin & Hobbes” by Bill Waterson
What Web sites do you have bookmarked?
www.google.com, for Google e-mail; www.rubyinrails.org, the Ruby on Rails programming framework; and www.picassaweb, for online family pictures
Where do you play?
Mountains when possible
Go out to eat?
Downtown Fort Collins
Favorite spot?
Fishing cabin at Red Feather Lakes
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