A pair of familiar faces have brought a winery back to Red Bud. 

Matthew Mollet and Cintia Hecht opened De Vinos Winery at 1522 State Route 3 on May 29, marking their return to the retail wine business after approximately six years away. 

“We really enjoy the customer service aspect of the winery, and we are both entrepreneurs so that was a huge impact on what we wanted to do going forward,” said Mollet, a Red Bud resident.

Mollet’s parents previously owned Lau-Nae Winery at the same location. They opened that business in 1999 and Mollet took it over a few years later.

About six years ago, however, Mollet and Hecht had a daughter. So, they rented the winery out and it became Red Bud Winery. 

With that business now located in Ruma and their daughter being older, Mollet and Hecht decided to get back in the business themselves late last year.

One of the first steps was remodeling the building with the help of friends and family. 

Hecht – who teaches at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Waterloo – worked as an architect in her native Argentina and designed the space. 

“We really wanted to give it a feel of comfort where people could just relax, stay and let all their pent-up tensions just go away at the door,” said Mollet, a Gibault Catholic High School graduate. 

Another early step was deciding on the name. 

Mollet and Hecht chose De Vinos, which loosely translated is “about wine” in Spanish, after falling in love with Argentinian wines on trips to that country. 

“With De Vinos, we really wanted to feature Argentinian wines,” Mollet explained. “Of course, we’re going to have our own wines and sell some domestic wines, but the focus is going to be on Argentinian wine.”

Mollet, who has nearly 21 years of experience in the wine business, will have eight to 10 different wines he makes available at the winery starting in November. 

De Vinos Winery also has domestic wines, bourbon, mixed drinks and beer, with plans to expand its offerings to include options like wine on tap. 

Additionally, it has a tapas menu, with a focus on empanadas made from products supplied by local business owners. 

When allowable, the winery will also have a banquet room that holds about 70 people, an outdoor pavilion with approximately a 70-person capacity and portions of its vineyard available for people to rent out. 

Even without those features, Mollet said people have been excited about the winery so far.

“It was really rewarding, after being out of the retail space for six years, to see some of our old customers come back and see some fresh and new faces,” Mollet said. “It’s a challenging time to open up during COVID, but we’ve had a great response.” 

According to Mollet, those new patrons can benefit from his experience if they are inexperienced wine drinkers – which is just one reason to try De Vinos Winery. 

“I’ve been in the wine business for 21 years, so I’ve got a really good knowledge of how to help people select wine based on their tastes,” he noted “Also, there is a uniqueness to the winery with the new remodel and relaxation part of it. We’re not going to be a place where we’re going to try to turn tables over. We just want you to come here and feel at home.” 

Search “De Vinos Winery, Red Bud IL” on Facebook or call 618-282-3384 to learn more.