Article by media partner Cuisine Noir, the country’s first Black culinary lifestyle outlet since 2009 dedicated to connecting the African diaspora through food, drink and travel.
Chrishon Lampley built her wine empire on breaking barriers with Love Cork Screw, a brand geared toward removing intimidation and encouraging new and seasoned drinkers to explore wine without worrying about doing it “right.”
Lampley’s path to wine began far from vineyards. During her successful career in high-end retail sales on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, she opened a bar and gallery featuring award-winning wine lists. Operating the venue gave her a front row seat to the wine industry’s influence on business.
“I saw powerful decisions being made over wine and decided I would no longer stay on the sidelines watching those conversations happen,” she says.
Following the end of her bar venture, Lampley evolved Love Cork Screw through iterations as a blog and radio show before establishing it as a wine brand in 2014. As a négociant, she partners with vineyards to produce custom wine blends.
Representing one of the few Black women in this segment of the industry, she achieved success through strong insight into consumer behavior and building a rapport with vineyards across the country.
Love Cork Screw quickly earned the nickname “the Snapple of Wines” for its wide-ranging varietals and broad appeal. Among the brand’s numerous accolades, the “Be the Light” 2021 Sauvignon Blanc received Wine Enthusiast’s coveted Best Buy distinction.
A Father’s Enduring Impact
In November 2020, the entrepreneur launched the Lampley collection, an elevated line featuring refined wine varietals and her first home goods line of candles and diffusers created with Black and Brown artisans.
The Lampley wine collection features a thoughtfully curated lineup that includes sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, rosé, riesling, concord and pinot grigio.
For this collection, Lampley partnered with a small, family-owned vineyard in Lodi, California, a collaboration she had hoped to pursue for some time. Working with this vineyard aligned perfectly with the Lampley’s mission of supporting small businesses and creating products rooted in intention, quality and legacy.
The cream and gold leaf labels contrast sharply with Love Cork Screw’s renowned bright aesthetic. Most importantly, the collection honors her father’s legacy and battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma.
Lampley’s father served as president of minority purchasing at Commonwealth Edison, the largest electric utility company in Illinois, dedicating his career to securing contracts for Black and Brown businesses. His work shaped Chicago’s business community and created pathways to success for entrepreneurs who faced barriers in other spaces.
“My dad was a very inspirational and powerful man here in Chicago,” Lampley reflects. “He made so many people wealthy and successful with the contracts he provided.”
Later in life, Lampley’s father’s behavior began to change in ways that alarmed the family. Despite decades of being known for his wit and kindness, he suddenly became aggressive, confused, and prone to hallucinations.
Based on when his behavior, cognition and physical abilities began to change, the family believes he may have been living with the disease for some time before it was formally identified. His symptoms gradually progressed, beginning with confusion and unusual behavior and later including difficulty with balance and walking.
“Something felt off long before we had a name for it,” the Chicago native recalls. “I knew something serious was happening when my father’s words no longer matched the man I had known my whole life.”
By Marcus Avery Christon
