Krista Matthes gives her customers the best experience possible

FAIRFIELD — Krista Matthes hopes that her dedication to her business will serve as an inspiration to young girls, like her 5-year-old daughter, Ava.

Matthes owns and manages the wine bar SOMM Wines in Fairfield, a business that is 2 years old and in its second home in a remodeled house on East Briggs Avenue. Matthes loves what she does and devotes enormous time to improving her business to give her customers the best experience.

“I’m always worried if I’m spending enough time with the family, but I also want to set a good example for my daughter about how to exceed expectations,” Matthes said. “I want her to know that [owning a business] is available for us, and that if things get tough, it’s not time to quit but to work harder.”

Matthes opened SOMM Wines in 2019 on the west side of the Fairfield square. She quickly outgrew her space and looked for a new location.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Matthes realized it would be nice to have a building with multiple small rooms instead of one big room, which is what she had. She and husband, Todd, found a property on East Briggs Avenue that once hosted Young’s Monument and later a home.

Though Todd and Krista knew there was much remodeling to be done to convert it into a wine bar, they liked that the new location would be able to offer outdoor seating and greater privacy. The new location has private rooms and several nooks and crannies where a couple can enjoy a romantic evening without being disturbed.

This year, the couple has focused on expanding outdoor seating, going from 14 seats to accommodating as many as 40, like at a recent gathering earlier this summer. Not only that, but the business is putting the finishing touches on an outdoor stage. Matthes hopes to be able to host a few outdoor concerts on it before the weather turns cold.

When Matthes was young, she assumed she would grow up to be a teacher because she enjoyed education so much. But that’s not how her life panned out. She still enjoys education, and in fact, educating her customers on new wines and new winemakers is one of the highlights of her job.

Sometimes customers will come to her with a meal in mind and ask her which wine goes best with that food. Knowing how to best pair wines and food is a skill Matthes honed while working for the celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse in Las Vegas, her hometown.

Emeril had his sommeliers choose six wines to serve with six distinct meals, and the meals changed every day. Matthes learned which wines accentuated the flavor in each dish.

Matthes gets to know each of her customers, finding out their likes and dislikes. She said that knowing what flavors turn them off is key in picking a wine that’s right for them.

As SOMM Wines prepares for the winter months, it will have to scale back its hours with limited staffing, but customers can always count on seeing Matthes and her smiling face at 102 East Briggs Ave.