Lets Talk Veuve Clicquot with Mona Elyafi

ILDK Media and A Lord Pupuce Productions announced the launch of “Locked Up and Uncorked”, a brand new YouTube Docu-series during the time of COVID-19 hosted by Entertainment publicist and LGBTQ+ PR campaign expert Mona Elyafi, CEO & Founder of ILDK Media.

Locked Up and Uncorked, produced by Aude Thouret for A Lord Pupuce Productions, retraces through short (5-8 minutes) episodes the history of Champagne, France, and its milestone moments from the coronation of Clovis (the first King of France) in the cathedral of Reims, to modern-day events.

It is a history that is paved with trials and triumphs and of course larger than life characters that have and continue to give Champagne its effervescent, sparkling and glorious personality.

In the face of the disastrous economic effects of the Coronavirius that saw the majority of her business gone in one day, Elyafi took that opportunity to bounce back, and put all this new free time to good use by turning to her passion, Champagne.

On top of completing an extensive course with Comite Champagne and receiving her accreditation as an official Champagne expert, she also decided to share her knowledge and expertise in all things Champagne related. Teaming up with her wife, she created and launched an entertaining, bubbly, educational, instructive and fun docuseries appropriately titled “Locked Up and Uncorked”.

Elyafi was born in Beirut Lebanon and immigrated to Paris France in 1975 when the civil war started. She was raised in Paris benefiting from a mix of both a European and Middle Eastern culture. With a muslim father and a catholic mother, she grew up exposed to both religions – its traditions, celebrations and beliefs. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to pursue a BA in Political Science. I left LA to for New York City where she attended New York University to complete a Masters in Liberal Arts (with a minor in Journalism). She then returned to LA and started her PR career at the Lee Solters Company with the famed Lee Solters (credited to have created the field of PR).

Following a back surgery, Elyafi battled a drug addiction crack cocaine for three years. At the age 33 she luckily hit rock bottom, picked herself up and commenced the long road to recovery which led to the  launched of her own PR firm, ILDK Media, in 2004.

ILDK Media is a one- woman owned business created 17 years ago with one tiny seed and over a decade later, turned into a widely respected expert in LGBTQ+ PR strategies with a focus on diversity & inclusion as well as global Women Empowerment campaigns.

Staying at the forefront of change, ILDK has been instrumental in making LGBTQ agendas move into mainstream culture.From transgender activist Michaela Mendelsohn (Transcanwork.org), to internationally known queer women festival such as The Dinah Shore Weekend (Thedinah.com),  to ClexaCon Las Vegas (Clexacon.com) – all LGBTQ PR campaigns that sparked more than a dialogue about diversity and equality and have led the mainstream headlines making front-page news.

The drive in Elyafi to amplify women’s voices runs in the family, starting with her maternal grandmother who was her mentor & role-model as well as her great uncle, Abdallah El Yafi, on her father’s side. Abdullah El Yafi, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was a pioneer in defending women’s rights & equality. He was at the forefront of the struggle to give women the right to vote, which he was able to achieve with his cabinet in power in 1952. This is a man who had quite an ‘avant-garde’ ring to conservative Muslim ears.

“Locked Up and Uncorked” is a project born out of love and absolutely passion for a bubbly wine who’s ultimate story is one of survival.

Champagne’s past is marked by devastation, wars, diseases, dreadful harvests and bad weather; yet it is also the birth place of the most iconic, most celebrated and loved wine in the world – the centerpiece of celebration and the emblem of the good life.

Elyafi is currently furthering her professional / academic expertise on Champagne by pursing the Wine Scholar Guild Champagne Master-Level Program.