Meet the 3 Chicago women making good wine more accessible
Marie Chesnik, Danielle Norris, and Kyla Peal are breaking the rules of wine one bottle at a time.
Credit: Instagram via Slik Wines
Ever found yourself searching for the perfect bottle of wine, but intimidated by the language, look or tastes of the people trying to sell it to you? When that happens, it’s easy to just reach for your comfort bottle of $8 grocery store wine rather than trying something new you may enjoy. Slik Wines wants to help Chicagoans change that, offering a new perspective on wine from women with a unique and approachable taste.
In August of 2020, during the heart of the pandemic, Marie Cheslik came up with the idea for a women-centric local wine club, and presented it to two colleagues and friends, Danielle Norris and Kyla Peal, who shared her same fervor. Beyond a passion for wine, they bring the knowledge too, with all three women holding Sommelier titles of varying degrees.
Slik Wines exists to fill any of your modern-day wine needs, such as private tasting events, virtual workshops, hospitality consulting and blind tastings that are offered on a sliding, pay-what-you-can scale (a payment concept nearly foreign in a luxury industry like a fine wine).
One of the most popular offerings of Slik Wines has been their monthly wine club, Wine Gang. Each month, one of the three women selects two bottles of wine which “excite” them, available for flat-rate purchase on their website with local pickup. Customers also receive a video that includes tasting notes as well as background on the region or vineyard where it was grown. These explanations are what give Slik Wines their approachable tone - no talking down or using confusing sommelier terminology, which can sound like gibberish to the average wine lover. The descriptions are clear, easy to understand, and peppered with the occasional pun whenever possible.
All three of these women have separate jobs in wine or hospitality and refer to Slik as a “side hustle,” another term for which could be “passion project.” Rather than seeking money or opportunities, they saw a need in their communities that wasn’t being met, and hustled to fix that.
In a recent essay for Bon Appetit, Peal shared her experiences as a Black woman in the wine business, and how when purchasing wine she was often steered to lower quality, sweeter choices like California white zinfandel and cheap moscatos. The perpetuation of these harmful stereotypes about Black consumer choices furthers the inaccessibility of better quality wines to these communities, which is why part of Slik Wines mission is to “reclaim what has been gatekept.”
Historically, the gates to the world of wine have been guarded by bodies which often look the same - cis, white, and male - with a similar palette that has influenced the mainstream taste for decades. Slik Wines is part of a larger movement to upend that, and reflect the varied and colorful tastes shared by wine drinkers worldwide - starting right here in Chicago.