After a brief closure in February, the former Geneva Wine Cellars and Tasting Room has reopened with new owners and a grand opening planned for this weekend.

The grand opening at the Berry House, 227 S. Third St., Geneva, features a Geneva Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 8 and live music all weekend.

Angela and Jordan Moore, and her parents Lynn and Dale Engebretson all of Carol Stream; and his parents Tim and Fatima Moore of St. Charles stepped up to fulfill a passion for wine.

“Our favorite place to go on weekends is Geneva,” Angela Moore said. “We’ve been going to this wine bar for 10 years and we got married in downtown Geneva when Fiora’s was Fiora’s. Now it’s The James.”

Former owner Al Buchanan opened the business 13 years ago.

“We renovated the entire building inside,” Angela Moore said. “Before, it was more of a bottle shop, you buy bottles of wine and you might have three wines open to try. Now we kind of flipped that. It’s more of a wine tasting bar, where you can get educated on different wines. And we offer 16 wines by the glass. ... You also have the option to make your own wine flight.”

The business has two sommeliers for wine education and events.

The family also invested in a wine machine so guests can do a self-guided tasting from eight spouts, she said.

They will offer wines from all over the world – California, Spain, France and Portugal.

“It’s something people really liked before – the international footprint,” she said. “We will continue to sell world-class wines.”

The family also renovated a third room that used to be for storage. Now it’s a lounge that can host up to 35 people. It can be open or rented out for private parties, she said.

“People are already calling to host book clubs and game nights. It’s its own nice private area,” Moore said.

There is no mistaking the enthusiasm here, as all six invested their personal savings and all have full-time day jobs. They rely on the former staff who are staying on for the daytime work.

Tim Moore, who is originally from St. Charles, works in finance and business operations. His parents have a chiropractic business in South Elgin.

Her father is a building code professional; her mom has worked at Costco for 25 years; Angela herself worked in the wine industry and now does sales training for a company.

“This is our nighttime passion,” she said.