‘A shared experience’: Two generations of wine lovers reopen Geneva Wine Cellar & Tasting Room

A staple of downtown Geneva has reopened in a familiar spot with a new look and new family ownership.

Geneva Wine Cellar & Tasting Room held a grand opening last week at 227 S. 3rd St., just a few months after the business’ previous owner had closed the establishment in February.

It’s a multigenerational endeavor and the culmination of a family dream for owners Angela and Jordan Moore of Carol Stream, who purchased the business with their parents Dale and Lynn Engebretson of Carol Stream and Fatima and Tim Moore of St. Charles.

“Wine is something that has always brought our family together,” Angela Moore said. “Every part of our life, when people get brought together, there’s a bottle of wine, and we just love that shared experience.”

Angela and Jordan had been frequent visitors to the previous iteration of the shop since they met about 10 years ago. It was where Angela met Jordan’s parents for the first time.

“This had been our happy place for 10 years, and we’ve always loved Geneva,” Angela said.

The space in the historic Berry House, which dates back to the late 1800s, has been a wine bar or retailer in some form or another for decades.

When Angela and Jordan saw a Facebook post that the business was closing, they reached out to former owner Al Buchanan. They closed on the sale on the last day Buchanan was in business.

Nine weeks later, the space has been completely renovated.

“The difference is night and day,” Jordan said.

The family has taken multiple wine-centric vacations, visiting locales such as Italy, Portugal, California and Oregon, always making lists of wine bars they stopped in and taking notes for what they hoped would come together for them in the future.

“Our goal as a family was always to open a wine bar of some sort together,” she said. “We tried to put all of that together into here.”

As you enter, the main room has a new bar as well as table seating and retail bottles for sale. Exposed stone accentuates the cellar vibe.

The shop sells over 100 different wines from all over the world curated by Angela, who is the only one in the family with professional wine experience. They’ll offer 16 wines by the glass at the tasting bar that will rotate every six weeks.

“We’ve got a lot of wines here you can’t typically buy in a big-box retailer,” Jordan said. “New World, Old World. (Angela) just did a phenomenal job putting it together.”

The tasting bar also will have local beers from brewers like Geneva’s Penrose Brewing and simple snacks.

A second room just beyond features a self-pour, interactive wine machine that allows guests to sample six different bottles with one-, three- or five-ounce pours that will rotate weekly.

“This gives a chance for people to try higher-end wines that you’d never get in a glass pour at a restaurant,” Jordan said. “It’s great for people to try really good wines without fully committing.”

A third room below will be open to guests as a quiet lounge area with deep blue walls and cozy seating that can be closed off for private events.

The outdoor patio will feature live music several days a week, and the family plans to add igloos for the winter months.

The business employs two certified sommeliers, who will be available to help customers Friday through Sunday, and several of the employees from the previous iteration have stayed on.

Angela said everything they’ve done was to create a space that can be “a shared experience.”

“Wine has always been our passion,” she said. “All of our dates, all of our vacations have been around wine, wineries and vineyards, and same with our parents. It’s a new chapter for the family and we really can’t wait to share it.”