Everyone’s business could use a little help these days, so we’re featuring some companies owned by local residents or located in Westchester/Playa to help promote shopping local and supporting community members.
Here’s the scoop on Chapter 4, owned by Westchester residents Scott and Nicole Torrence!
Q. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. A. Scott has lived in SoCal since attending and graduating San Diego State University. Starting in the early 2000s he was the Lead Fine and Rare Wine Specialist for Christie’s Auctions in North America based in Beverly Hills and held that job through early 2019.
For years, he was one of those early Tuesday/Thursday morning cyclists training on Westchester Parkway. It was all part of his weekend hobby racing as a nationally ranked criterium racer. As the family grew from two, then three and now four with the addition of our daughter Piper in 2018, the desire to risk life and limb racing lost some of its appeal, and he started to focus more on being closer to home enjoying early development moments with the kids.
Nicole, originally from Germany, has been in SoCal since 2010. Nicole has a background in child development and now has devoted her time to the family wine business and her children. Nicole enjoys connecting with the community in Westchester and loves to be outdoors. They have been Westchester residents for over five years now.
Q. Please tell us a little bit about your business? A. Our name “Chapter 4” comes from Scott’s evolution as a professional wine specialist. This business represents the fourth chapter of a career that began in the mid-1990s when he helped to open, then run the wine department at Cost Plus World Market on Westwood Blvd. Later as a Christie’s Wine Specialist, he could see there was a growing opportunity to serve a certain lifestyle clientele in the retail format that wasn’t getting access to quality, well cellared, vintage wines at affordable prices. After surveying the retail landscape, we decided to open a dedicated online wine shop that could serve the desire for something better than local brick and mortar wine shops, while offering superior quality and value, as well as top end rare selections. Our bottle prices range from $10 to $16,000.
Our most unique aspect is our ability to competently advise clients with significant collections through an auction or retail consignment negotiation. Last year, we brought over $2 million of wine into auctions on behalf of our clientele. We also work closely with local Estate Advisory firms to help evaluate wine cellars for both estate taxes and deaccession purposes.
Q. How have you shifted your business since COVID-19? A. One significant shift in our business is recognizing that our neighbors have lost the option to pick up a weekly bottle of wine on their local grocery trips. In recognition of this, we quickly quadrupled our selections below $25 and have assembled so called “Wine Kits,” we call them “Survival Kits,” of very well chosen, value oriented selections in bottle packs of 4, 6, 9 and 12. These kits range from $50 to $400 with regular savings of 20 percent or more off retail. We keep it interesting with vintage selections from Napa to Italy to France and as far away as New Zealand. Very soon, we will be offering a kit subscription service for those desiring regular monthly options–visit our website soon to see what we come up with!
Q. Anything else you’d like people to know about your business? A. Chances are if you see someone from Chapter 4 delivering your kits, its either myself, my wife Nicole or our sister-in-law, Jane–so please say hi! We are the very definition of a local, family-run business; we do everything!
Q, What are some of your favorite local businesses? A. Our family members are fans of Ayara Thai, Good Pizza, Kanpai and Benny’s. We also order our cakes at Westchester Bakery and get most of our groceries at “Little Vons.” We love our community and support them as much as we can, especially during these difficult times.
Visit chapfour.com for more details.
Photo by Cheryl Cantu Photography. Cherylcantuphotography.com.