CROOKED CREEK WINERY MAKES AWARD-WINNING WINES
Crooked Creek Winery
618-352-3234
24585 W. 10th St Rd, Centralia, IL
Crooked Creek Winery Downtown
618-352-3234
107 N. Oak St, Centralia IL
Since purchasing Crooked Creek Winery from the Romero family in 2013, Shannon and Mindy Cooney have handcrafted a legacy of entrepreneurship, revitalization, and of course, high quality wine.
The couple relocated from Los Angeles upon the purchase of the winery, with Shannon saying they were looking to move closer to Mindy’s hometown of Hoffman after the birth of their first child.
“At the time, we had a newborn baby, and we thought maybe it was time to move closer to home,” said Cooney, a former chemist. “At the time I didn’t really know anything about wine made in the Midwest or Illinois, but I had taken some classes at UCLA, and I was studying restaurant management and wine tasting and manufacturing. I was really interested in wine.”
Wishing to learn the winemaking process from scratch, Cooney enlisted help from friends and local grape growers, Ryan Heimann and Nick Deiters. Meanwhile, Mindy oversaw the business’s branding and marketing, creating an all-new image and culture.
“I learned how to grow the grapes, pick the grapes, process the grapes, turn the juice into wine and get the time into the bottle,” Cooney recalled. “[Mindy] has always been really good with branding and marketing. She worked on updating the brand, changing the label, and getting everything approved by the state. We’re a good team.”
In the ten years that have passed since purchasing the winery, the Cooneys have created several lines of popular, award-winning products, blending their affinity for dry wines with regional preferences.
“We’ve settled into some pretty good lines of wine. We’ve got a signature series Chambourcin Reserve, a Rosé and a Seyval Blanc; so, a red, white and pink wine that area ll restaurant quality,” Cooney said. “We’ve got our Crooked Creek label, which is all local product, semi-sweet-to-dry. Then we’ve got the Buckaroo Hooch label, which are sweet and fun and easy to drink. People really love those, too.”
Cooney said the recipe for making wines that last is authenticity, one of the winery’s core values that led them to being recognized by Governor J.B. Pritzker.
“We were recently recognized by the governor as having an Authentic Illinois Product. That was the Illinois Made Award,” said Cooney. “It was nice to be surprised by that recognition because authenticity is one of our core values. I think what we’ve tried to do with the wines, and what we’ve tried to do with the brands is just be true to ourselves and what we like.”
Discussing Crooked Creek Winery’s Broadway location, which is now operated by Cooney Hospitality Group, has helped pave the way for the revitalization of downtown Centralia.
“We made a commitment to stay in the community of Centralia. We did some pop-up wine bars first, then eventually opened the full-time downtown wine bar,” Cooney said. “It’s been a huge success downtown and it’s lead to a lot of our redevelopment ventures of buying historic buildings and revitalizing the downtown corridor in Centralia.
“We also have the open mic every Thursday night to encourage a community of musicians and people that are trying to get started in the arts and in music,” Cooney continued. “We’ve tried to create a music scene here in downtown Centralia.”
Cooney also mentioned his business partners, Chris Becker and Alex Hyer, who have helped he and Mindy expand their operations.
“We’ve got Chris Becker, who has taken on the role of assistant wine maker. He’s learned the process, and I have given him the reigns. This next vintage that is coming out is one hundred percent done by Chris with my oversight,” Cooney said. “Alex Hyer helps us manage the downtown wine bar, and she is the lead bartender of our cocktail program. They both work with me full-time and do a lot of things independently now. I trust them one hundred percent.”
With a fleet of top-quality wines in tow, numerous community projects either completed or in-development as a result of the winery’s success and a talented staff of committed partners helping them achieve their collective vision, the Cooneys are poised to continue their crusade of multi-faceted entrepreneurship in Centralia.
