Marvin Shanken

Last updated
Marvin R. Shanken
Marvin R Shanken 2012.jpg
Born (1943-10-04) October 4, 1943 (age 81)
New Haven, CT
Alma mater University of Miami (BBA)
American University (MBA)
Occupations
  • Publisher
  • Editor
TitleFounder & Chairman, M. Shanken Communications

Marvin R. Shanken (born October 4, 1943) is an American publisher and founder of M. Shanken Communications. [1] Shanken's roster of lifestyle publications includes Wine Spectator , Cigar Aficionado and Whisky Advocate . [2] Shanken is editor and publisher of each of the three publications. Based in Manhattan, M. Shanken Communications has offices in Napa, California and Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Contents

Life and career

Early life, education and entry into publishing

Shanken grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. He received an undergraduate BBA degree in 1965 from the University of Miami, and then an MBA at American University in 1968.

Shanken started his career in real estate and investment banking, then moved into publishing in 1973, purchasing Impact, a small wine and spirits industry newsletter, before expanding to other trade publications including Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Impact Newsletter. In 1979, he purchased Wine Spectator a few years after its 1976 founding, [3] and launched Cigar Aficionado in September 1992. [4] In 2010, Whisky Advocate was added to the Shanken portfolio. [5]

He later went on to spearhead Wine Spectator’s entry to the digital world, with mobile apps including Wine Spectator WineRatings+ and Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards. [6]

High-profile interviews

For Cigar Aficionado, Shanken has interviewed leaders, artists and celebrities—many of whom are famously elusive—such as Fidel Castro (1994), Francis Ford Coppola (2003), General Tommy Franks (2003), Arnon Milchan (2008), Michael Jordan (2005, 2017), Robert De Niro (2015), Alex Rodriguez (2018), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (2020), Mark Wahlberg (2023) , Arnold Schwarzenegger (2023) and Bret Baier (2024).

In 2020, Shanken's video interview with Michael Jordan was released. To date, it has been seen by over 8 million viewers. Shanken revealed to GQ details behind his two Cigar Aficionado cover story interviews with Jordan, who rarely talks to the press. [7]

In 2022, Wine Spectator released a rare video interview, filmed in 1999, between Shanken and the famously private Ernest Gallo, co-founder of E & J Gallo Winery. [8] The interview was filmed on Gallo's 90th birthday.

In 2023, Shanken committed to a five-part series, featuring wine industry icons, for Wine Spectator. The purpose of the series is to explore and preserve the icons’ rich legacies. As of September 2024, four of the parts have been completed: Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards in Napa; [9] Angelo Gaja of Italy; [10] Piero Antinori of Italy; Christian Moueix of Bordeaux and Napa. [11] The final interview, with Bill Harlan of Harlan Estate in Napa, is expected by end of 2024.

Reader and industry focused events

Shanken was one of the first magazine publishers to host reader-focused events, with the launches of the New York Wine Experience in 1981, WhiskyFest in 1998 and the Big Smoke in 1993. [12]

The annual Impact Marketing Seminar for wine and spirits industry leaders from around the world began in 1977 and has featured renowned speakers such as Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Milken, Ron DeSantis, Michael Strahan, Bret Baier, Abba Eban, Madeleine Albright, John R. Bolton, Newt Gingrich, Tommy Franks, Helmut Schmidt and Walter Cronkite.

Additional

In 2023, Wine Spectator began a partnership with the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival. In December 2024, the consumer event returns for its 17th year. [13]

In 2021, M. Shanken Communications published a special 50th anniversary issue, whose contents included an interview with Marvin R. Shanken, the origins of M. Shanken Communications, a history of the U.S. drinks market, a history of the cigar industry and a look at the future of wine and spirits in America. [14]

In 2019, Shanken News Daily launched its Cannabis Edition, a weekly newsletter covering the cannabis market, with a special focus on the movements of major drinks industry companies. [15]

Shanken and his wife Hazel collect French poster art from the 1890s to WWI, the era of Toulouse-Lautrec. The collection is showcased in a 1990 book by Jack Rennert, Wine Spectator's Posters of the Belle Epoque.

Philanthropy and community involvement

Charity events

Shanken is the creator of several annual charity events including Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience (started in 1981); Cigar Aficionado's Night to Remember dinner for prostate cancer (1993); and the Els for Autism Pro-Am Golf Tournament (2010). Combined, the events have raised more than $75 million. The monies have been donated to a multitude of charities.

Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation

He is also founder of the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation. In 2021, the Foundation made a record $10 million commitment to Napa Valley College to support the construction and expansion of the college's Viticulture, Wine and Technology program teaching spaces, which will be named the Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex at Napa Valley College. [16]

As of 2024, $3.6 million in scholarships and research grants has been granted to students at the University of California at Davis' Department of Viticulture and Enology. [17]

In 2020, the Foundation contributed $250,000 to World Central Kitchen, the charitable organization led by chef Jose Andres. [18]

In addition, the Foundation donated $3 million to Sonoma State University's Wine Spectator Learning Center, which opened its doors in 2018. [19] [20]

Els for Autism Foundation

In 2009, Shanken, along with Ernie Els and Liezl Els, founded the Els for Autism Foundation in Jupiter, Florida. With a global mission to transform the lives of people with autism and those who care for them through lifetime services and collaborative partnerships, the Foundation built and runs a school for 300 boys and girls on an expansive 26-acre campus in Jupiter, Florida. Shanken served as Chairman of the Board, with his tenure concluding in 2023. As of 2023, he serves as Honorary Chairman. [21] In 2024, Shanken spoke to Golfweek about the foundation, his involvement and the story behind the founding of the annual Els for Autism Pro-Am. [22]

In 2018, the Els for Autism Foundation and the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai partnered to create the Seaver Els Institute, a research organization dedicated to helping people on the autism spectrum fulfill their potential to lead positive, productive and rewarding lives. [23]

In 2016, at the annual Els for Autism Pro-Am, Rickie Fowler shot a hole-in-one, resulting in a $1,000,000 donation. [24]

Scholarship and Organizational Activities

In 2021, the Marvin and Hazel Shanken DEI Scholarship was announced. The scholarship benefits students pursuing a hospitality education at Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. [25]

Shanken is an Honorary Board Member of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami. [26]

In 1988, he was inducted into the Keepers of the Quaich, which was founded that year as a celebration of Scottish culture, tradition and whisky. As of 2023, he serves as vice chair of the USA chapter. [27]

Family

He has three daughters, Samantha Shanken Baker, Allison Cohen and Jessica Elizabeth Shanken Reid and four grandchildren, Jake, Lauren, Jordan and Asher. Jessica serves as Executive Vice President, Business Development at M. Shanken Communications.

Awards

In 2019, Shanken was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MPA, the Association of Magazine Media. [28]

In 2018, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Meininger Verlaga—a German media company founded in 1903 specializing in wine and spirits trade publications—for his impact on the global wine industry. [29]

In 2012, he was named among the Who’s Who of Food & Beveragein America by the James Beard Foundation. [30]

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References

  1. ↑ "Home". mshanken.com.
  2. ↑ Gardner Jr., Ralph (November 22, 2015). "Marvin Shanken, His Cave and Lots of Stories". Wall Street Journal.
  3. ↑ Prial, Frank J. (February 16, 1986). Wine Spectator: Marvin R. Shanken; The man who knows what everyone's drinking. New York Times
  4. ↑ Lewis, Neil A. (September 8, 1993). Lighting up a few with: Marvin Shanken; To Some Minds, A Cigar Is Never Just a Cigar. New York Times
  5. ↑ "Publisher of Wine Spectator Acquires Malt Advocate, Inc". Advertising Week.
  6. ↑ Freedman, Brian. "How Wine Spectator Thrives, And Continues To Grow, 40 Years After Its First Issue". Forbes. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Michael Jordan Used to Smoke a Cigar Before Every Home Game". GQ. 15 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Rare Video Interview With Ernest Gallo Reveals Rags To Riches Story Of The World's Largest Wine Corporation". Forbes.
  9. ↑ "Chuck Wagner: The Force Behind Caymus". Wine Spectator.
  10. ↑ "Angelo Gaja: Champion of Italian Wine". Wine Spectator.
  11. ↑ "An Exclusive Interview with Christian Moueix". Wine Spectator.
  12. ↑ Passy, Charles (November 15, 2017). "Magazine Publisher by Day, WhiskyFest Host by Night". Wall Street Journal.
  13. ↑ "Palm Beach, Florida: The Star Of The Luxury Food And Wine Festival Circuit". Forbes. 14 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "M. Shanken Communications Celebrates Its 50th Year". Shanken News Daily. 20 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "Shanken News Daily Launches Weekly Cannabis Edition". Shanken News Daily. 29 January 2019.
  16. ↑ "Wine Spectator Foundation donates $10 million to Napa Valley College". Napa Valley Register. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Giving Back: The Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation". Wine Spectator.
  18. ↑ "Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation Donates $250,000 to Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen". Wine Industry Advisor. 21 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "Sonoma State Announces $3 Million Wine Spectator Foundation Donation". Wine Business. 7 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "Wine Spectator Learning Center". Sonoma State University. 16 February 2018.
  21. ↑ "Els For Autism". elsforautism.org.
  22. ↑ "Making a difference for autism, Ernie Els is Golfweek's 2024 Father of the Year". Golfweek. June 16, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Mount Sinai of New York and Els for Autism Foundation Join Forces to Establish Research Institute at The Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter, Florida". Mount Sinai. April 2, 2018.
  24. ↑ Rosaforte, Tim (March 14, 2016). "You'll have a tough time not including these holes-in-one on the year's best-shots list". Golf Digest.
  25. ↑ "outhern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Launches Groundbreaking Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Alliance At FIU's Chaplin School Of Hospitality & Tourism Management". newsroom.southernglazers.com.
  26. ↑ "University of Miami elects new members to Board of Trustees". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  27. ↑ "Whisky Advocate: Keepers Of The Quaich's New York Gala". Shanken News Daily. 9 October 2023.
  28. ↑ "8 niche media all-stars to know". 11 June 2019.
  29. ↑ "Meininger Honors Marvin R. Shanken with Lifetime Achievement Award". Wine Spectator. March 27, 2018.
  30. ↑ "James Beard Foundation". JamesBeard.org. June 29, 2018.
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