Wine Boutique to close

A Madison-area wine store that was a local pioneer in hosting in-store wine tastings is closing its doors this month.

Kelly Jo Gilboy, owner of The Wine Boutique, 6220 University Avenue, sent an e-mail message to "hundreds and hundreds" of customers on her data base last Thursday, announcing that after 15 years she was leaving the retail wine business to spend more time with her children, ages 5, 8 and 10.

Gilboy said that the current slowdown in the economy was not a factor in her decision to close up shop.

"I had the best January I've ever had, and in February had more events than I could manage. I think people are looking for little ways to reward themselves, and buying a bottle of wine to take home for dinner is part of that. It's actually a good time to be in the business," she said.

Gilboy said in an interview today that she was not ruling out doing wine consulting work, but that she was ready to take a break after the demands of running her own business, which she began in 1994.

Over the years, Gilboy earned a reputation among area home cooks for her ability to suggest wines that paired well with specific foods and menus, and her store was one of growing number that regularly hosted wine tastings and events for increasingly sophisticated local wine drinkers.

Gilboy will keep her Wine Boutique Web site, wineboutique.com up for the next couple of months, and said she was developing a business plan for the next phase of her career, which she hoped to run from home.

"But not on a full-time basis," she said.

"My husband has been unbelievably supportive of what I've been doing for many years, but the children are getting to that active phase where there's a soccer game at 6 and a basketball game at 7:30, and I'm still at the store. Something had to give," she said.

Gilboy noted that she had initially planned to remain open until March 27 but the response from customers has basically cleaned the store out of everything except a couple dozen bottles of wine -- mostly Champagne -- and store fixtures and some gift baskets.

"I feel like there's a weight of bricks off my shoulders, but I'll miss my customers," she said.