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A large mailbox, entwined in metal grape vines in dark shades of purple and green and painted with a single word — wine — is the first indicator that you've reached Yvonne K. Foucher's CataVinos.

Open since early September, the wine shop and tasting room is distinct in that each of its 150-plus types of wine, from Bordeaux to zinfandel, costs less than $15.

"Anybody can find a great bottle of wine for $30. Try finding one for less than $15," Foucher (pronounced Foo-shay) said, quoting longtime friend and current business consultant Tom Keim.

Most people, she added, "go to a shop and there's $80 bottles of wine and $4 bottles of wine, and they don't know where to begin. There are those who want to make wine mysterious, and they're very effective."

Foucher — who gave up a career as an architect to open her wine shop — is hoping she can help demystify the experience.

With CataVinos, she said in a voice that's both warm and slightly raspy, "I wanted a very natural, unpretentious and warm environment."

Frequent customer, artist Tyler Pierce, 36, would agree she's succeeded on that front.

Foucher wanted "something nice on a scale that would appeal to fairly down-to-earth people," he said. "There's nothing snooty about selling a $15 bottle of wine."

The shop is less for people who want to have some form of status for having been there, Pierce explained, than for those simply interested in finding a good bottle of wine at an affordable price.

Foucher and Keim tasted more than 500 bottles before settling on CataVinos' current inventory of about 150.

CataVinos' speciality is carrying wines available from small-production vineyards, such as Spain's Castillo de Monseran, Chateau Recougne of France and the makers of the popular Yard Dog — a red wine from Australia that combines petit verdot, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

The interior of the wine shop is dominated by soft, earthy colors balanced by sturdier metals. The light wood of the wine racks — made from recycled wood pallets — complements the bright copper of the transaction stand, both of which are muted by the dark tan, soy-based cement flooring.

In a smaller room where weekly themed tastings are held, chairs surround an oblong table. From there, two doors open outward to a brick-lined, covered patio.

The renovations to the building, one block south of East Fort Lowell Road on North Alvernon Way, took several months and plenty of communication between Foucher and inspection officials to ensure it was up to code.

"Someday I'm going to write a book, 'It Takes 25 Years in Architecture to Open a Wine Shop,' " she joked.

Born in Detroit, Foucher moved to Tucson in 1981 to attend the University of Arizona and study architecture.

"That's when Tucson stole my heart," she recalled.

As an architect, she specialized in the design of biomedical research facilities, which provided her with a constant, invigorating challenge.

"I'd been forced by my career to leave Tucson many times, but my heart has always been here," she said.

It was in 2005 when, after being promoted to a vice president at HOK Architects in St. Louis — regarded as one of the world's leading design firms — Foucher realized she had reached her turning point.

"I hit a glass ceiling, and I knew it," she said. "I knew I wanted to do something different with the next 20 years of my career."

The concept of CataVinos was developed last year with the help of Keim, whose own wine shop in Southern California Foucher had often visited after she'd been assigned to the area on a project.

Already a novice wine drinker, she said she's now getting a figurative master's degree on the subject — learning and studying as much as she can about the drink, its history and current methods of production.

Foucher often shares the fruits of her studies with guests at the shop's weekly tastings.

"She goes beyond the wine and gives you clever little stories about the vintners themselves, the regions where they're grown," said Carrie Slattery, 30, who — along with her friends — has made a girls' night out of the weekly event.

Foucher "is so laid back and so easy to talk to," she said. "She's just extremely warm and welcoming … and just really helps you enjoy the wine."

As for her former career in architecture, "I don't miss it, yet," Foucher said, followed by a quick giggle. "I'm having a blast. I love it."