Editor and publisher
While my duties as chairman of M. Shanken Communications, Inc. and editor and publisher of Wine Spectator keep me busy, I will be making occasional appearances on WineSpectator.com's blogs when I have topics I want to share with our readers.
I grew up in New Haven, Conn., where my parents owned a jewelry store. I graduated with a business degree from the University of Miami, then earned a master's of business administration at American University in Washington, D.C. I began my career on Wall Street, specializing in real estate and investment banking, but was bitten by the wine bug in the early 1970s.
I started my publishing career in 1973, when I paid $5,000 for a small wine and spirits industry newsletter called Impact. Now the company's roster of magazines includes Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado (both of which have companion Web sites), along with the trade publications Market Watch and Food Arts, among others.
I enjoy the light opera of Gilbert & Sullivan, the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the novels of Jeffrey Archer. I'm also a lifelong fan of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, who performed at the California Wine Experience in 1992 and 2002. My new-found happiness is on any great golf course.
Recent blog posts by Marvin R. Shanken
- A Legend Lives On (May 16, 2008)
- Thomas Jefferson and Me (Aug 29, 2007)
- Wine Belongs on the Table, Not in a Hedge Fund (Feb 26, 2007)
- The Stars of '79 (Dec 15, 2006)
- What's New in Wine (Dec 11, 2006)
- Best Wine Buys at Restaurants (Dec 6, 2006)
- Keeping a Secret (Nov 20, 2006)
- Dining: Beware of the Person on Your Left! (Oct 25, 2006)
- Paris Tasting: Much To-Do About Nothing! (Jun 5, 2006)
- Sopranos Versus 24 (May 22, 2006)
