We make strawberry wine.  It is how we've chosen to stay connected with our grandmother, Sophie, who also made strawberry wine.  She, along with 12 siblings, were born in Mississippi.  Grandma traveled to Chicago with an older sister while she was a teenager.  A few years later, she married her first husband who had come to America from Haiti.  Chicago was founded the Haitian Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable.  We commemorate Chicago's Haitian heritage through our brand name which is Haitian Creole.

First, my wife and I hosted a small wine tasting

Back in June 2016, we bottled our first batch of strawberry wine.  That wine is now called Prentan which means spring.  We paired it with soft cheeses, nuts, dried fruit.  I was aiming for a semi-sweet wine with a slightly higher alcohol than most people I know were accustomed to.

Everyone loved it!

Given the response, I set out to determine if it could be worth going into the wine business - something my grandmother never got around to doing.  So around August 2016, we spoke with a wine industry compliance expert named Ann Reynolds..

We started attending and being a part of wine events

After speaking with Ann, a few months past while started looking into custom crush options in the Midwest.  After repeated rejections, we wound up attending a wine tasting event with winemaker Andre Hueston Mack at a hotel in Hyde Park.  Hearing his story, I shared my personal journey with him afterwards.  His words set me on the path I'm currently on to get some space, set up my equipment, handle the government hurdles and make wine.

After that, I approached the promoter of the River North Wine Fest about possibly being a vendor.  I had not thought this through.  I just saw the Eventbrite and sent Naftali Garber an email.  Next thing you know, we had a space on the second floor of Moe's Cantina and 3 hours of exposure to about 1000 guests. Over the past 3-1/2 years we've been a vendor at the River North Wine Fest five times, the Junior League of Chicago's Perfect Pairing Event twice, St Thomas the Apostle's Wines and Vines fundraiser once, and King David #90 Order of the Eastern Star PHA's wine tasting event once.  We've brought wine to PTA meetings and been a vendor at an event hosted by a local Haitian restaurant called Kizin Creole.

Our goal has been to get as much exposure, receive as much good and bad feedback as possible, find support within the industry and give this venture the best possible chance for success.

Now we're ready to open *UPDATE

I was looking to lease a property in the South Shore community in order to make and distribute our wines; however, due to zoning issues, we had to look at other options.  Last summer, my brother suggested I look at Craigslist.  I came across a former brewery for sale that had just been listed the day before.  It is located in the historic Pullman/Roseland neighborhood of Chicago and already has the zoning that I need.  

If acquired now, production could begin as soon as late summer.

We are simultaneously applying for grants like the City of Chicago's Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and Chicago Recovery Grant.   If awarded, we would be reimbursed up to 75% of acquisition and construction costs.

With your investment, we can make it happen.