‘Our Purpose and Goal Was Accomplished’ – CLINK Creators Celebrate Their First ‘Sold Out’ Wine and Spirits Festival’

It was a beautiful afternoon in Elmhurst, Illinois just 19 minutes from Chicago’s skyline, where local weather forecasters promised warm sunshine during the day and possible thunderstorms in the evening. But for Chrishon Lampley Founder of Love Cork Screw wines and Joyce Dawkins Founder of She ROCKS it, there was nothing but sunshine, smiles and the sound of happiness as these two pioneers hosted a sold out event for their first annual CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival.

Over 50 Winemakers from across the country were displayed at the Wilber Mansion where creators Chrishon and Joyce catered to over 350 guests, to bring awareness and support to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) entrepreneurs in the wine and spirits industry.

In co-creating the CLINK event, Joyce says their goal was to educate, empower and encourage Minority women to follow their dreams and aspiration, even if only 1% of Minority women currently occupy the space.
“Our purpose was to host an event that shined the spotlight on the BIPOC in the wine and spirits industry,” says Joyce. “We wanted to give our guests an unforgettable experience and our purpose and goal was accomplished!  Stay tuned for 2023!”

Chrishon says her visions for CLINK was to celebrate, network and support one another-all together under one roof. “It’s one thing to throw an amazing event,“ expresses Chrishon, “but it’s another to have Makers tell us they got into stores because of CLINK. My heart is overflowing with warmth and gratitude and I look forward to next year being bigger and better.”

Winemakers Kristin Taylor and Macie Mincey are new to the industry and created a catchy brand called “Mom Juice” produced and distributed by their company KT Winery. Kristin says although she’s based in Virginia, they have the capacity to sell thousands of Mom Juice products to customers via their website.
“Chicago’s our number one market, so we love Chicago,” says Kristin. “Hopefully we’ll get our wines in places very, very soon. We’re in the distribution conversation now, so it’s been amazing.”

The four hour event attracted wine enthusiasts, purveyors, and fans of Chrishon’s Love Cork Screw wines. The Southside Wine Divas based in Chicago is a private wine club of 15 members who started in 2008. They were excited when they read promotions on social media about the wine and spirits festival and were looking forward to attending the CLINK event.
“We traveled from Chicago as a group and we had a fantastic time,” says JoAnn Taylor, president of the wine club. “Everything was just perfect and we look forward to making this an annual event on our schedule.”

The decor and presentation was impeccable and invoked a classy mood featuring DJ music and an outdoor waterpark with nonalcoholic beverages. Both the first and the second floor had tasting stations throughout the mansion. Winemakers, chefs, and servers offered samplings of their delicious wine and spirits, paired with vegan, meat based and vegetable tapas.

Sponsored in part by Mariano’s, the grocery giant commissioned chefs to accompany the event with exquisite appetizers from local Chicago chefs of color. Chef Dominique Leach, Executive Chef & owner of Lexington Betty Smokehouse created a new appetizer the morning of the event, with barbecued brisket, glazed vegetables and shrimp. “We currently hold the honor of Best Barbecue in Chicago,” says Chef Dominique. “We started out in a food truck in 2017 and now we have three locations in Chicago. It’s great to be here.”

Chef Jennifer Selvaggi is the Executive Chef for Turano Baking Company. Her creation of an Italian vegan meatball had tasters waiting in line. “It’s a great turnout,” exclaims Chef Jen, “Its lively, its vibrant and everyone’s having a great time.”

Jackie Gichner of Vitani shared her story on how she created her popular Cosmo Martini, one of several drinks from her collection.
“I love dirty martinis and I wanted to open up a bottle of dirty martinis like you open up a bottle a wine,” explains Jackie, “so I created a margarita mix, – chilled and ready to serve, straight from the bottle.”

Jesse Steward Jr. Founder of Alexander James Whiskey says the name is derived from his relatives. A young man himself, his knowledge of making vintage whiskey impressed visitors at his tasting station. “You want it to be flavorful up front,” says Jesse, “smooth going down, with a little kick at the end, because its a bourbon.”

Jesse says events like CLINK helps make BIPOC winemakers successful and he’ll be back next year. Until then, he says tasters can purchase Alexander James Whiskey at several locations including Kimbark Beverage Shoppe in Hyde Park and at Binny’s Beverage Depot stores throughout Illinois.