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Marvin R. Shanken (born October 4, 1943) is an American publisher and founder of M. Shanken Communications. Shanken's roster of
lifestyle publication Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by consumers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, fo ...
s includes ''
Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...
'', '' Cigar Aficionado'' and ''Whisky Advocate''. Based in Manhattan, M. Shanken Communications has offices in Napa, California and
Emmaus, Pennsylvania Emmaus ( ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 11,652. Emmaus is located in the Lehigh Valley, the third lar ...
.


Life and career

Shanken grew up in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
. He is of Judaic heritage. He received an undergraduate BBA degree in 1965 from the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
, and then an MBA at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
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. His company has expanded to other trade publications including ''Market Watch'', ''Shanken News Daily'' and ''Impact Newsletter''. In 1979, he purchased ''
Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...
'' a few years after its 1976 founding,Prial, Frank J. (February 16, 1986). Wine Spectator: Marvin R. Shanken; The man who knows what everyone's drinking. ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
and launched '' Cigar Aficionado'' in September 1992.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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
He also spearheaded ''Wine Spectator''’s entry to the digital world, with mobile apps including Wine Spectator WineRatings+, Xvalues and Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards. As editor and publisher of ''Cigar Aficionado'', Shanken has interviewed famous-yet-elusive leaders, artists and celebrities including
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
(1994),
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
(2003),
General Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including the ...
(2003), Arnon Milchan (2008),
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
(2005, 2017) and
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
(2015),
Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who played as a Linebacker#Middle linebacker, middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in th ...
(2016), Alex Rodriguez (2018) and
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
(2020). In 2020, Shanken's interview with Michael Jordan was posted online. To date, it has been seen by over 6 million viewers. He is also editor and publisher of ''Wine Spectator''. In 2017, he assumed the same title at ''Whiskey Advocate.'' In 2022, Shanken released never-before-seen footage of a rare video interview he conducted with Ernest Gallo that took place in 1999. 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. Today there are over a dozen events annually in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Miami. 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 William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
,
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
,
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
,
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
,
Michael Milken Michael Robert Milken (born July 4, 1946) is an American financier. He is known for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds ("junk bonds"), and his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea on felony charges for vio ...
, Ron DeSantis, Abba Eban,
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
, John R. Bolton,
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, Tommy Franks, Helmut Schmidt and Walter Cronkite.


Awards

In 2019, Shanken was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MPA, the Association of Magazine Media, honoring individuals who have made longstanding contributions to the magazine media industry and society. The tribute was made by Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive of
Condé Nast International Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to t ...
. In 2018, Shanken 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. In 2012, Shanken was named among the ''Who’s Who of Food & Beverage'' ''in America'' by the James Beard Foundation.


Personal

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 book by Jack Rennert called ''Posters of the Belle Epoque''. He has three daughters, Samantha Shanken Baker, Allison Cohen and Jessica Elizabeth Shanken Reid. Jessica serves as vice president, Business Development at M. Shanken.


Philanthropy

Shanken is the creator of several annual charity events including Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience weekend started in 1981; Cigar Aficionado's Night to Remember dinner for prostate cancer since 1993; and the Els for Autism Pro-Am golf tournament in 2010, which together have raised more than $50,000,000. The monies have been donated to many educational and culinary institutions. He is also founder of the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation, which funded the Wine Spectator Learning Center at
Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's d ...
, which opened in the summer of 2017, and 924 scholarships and grants totaling 3.6 million dollars for students at the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
School of Viticulture and Enology. In 2020 a $250,000 contribution was made to José Andrés' Charity, World Central Kitchen and a $100,000 donation was made to the Glancy Wine Education Foundation providing scholarships to students at San Francisco Wine School. 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. In 2009, Shanken, along with Ernie Els and Liezl Els, founded the Els for Autism Foundation in Jupiter, Florida. The Foundation built and runs a school for 300 autistic boys and girls on an expansive 26-acre campus in Jupiter. 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 to analyze data for early intervention. Shanken is an Honorary Board Member of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and on the board of directors of the MPA (Association of Magazine Media). In 2017, he was elected to the board of trustees of the University of Miami and Chairman of the Els for Autism Foundation. In 2016 at the annual Els Pro Am,
Rickie Fowler Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth ...
shot a hole in one, resulting in a $1,000,000 donation.


References


External links


M. Shanken Communications, Inc.Marvin Shanken
via Charlie Rose {{DEFAULTSORT:Shanken, Marvin American publishers (people) Living people 1943 births James Beard Foundation Award winners