Wine Spectator publisher Marvin R. Shanken dies at 83

Marvin R. Shanken, founder and chairman of M. Shanken Communications and longtime editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, died on October 29, 2026. He was 83. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on October 4, 1943, Shanken earned a business degree from the University of Miami in 1965 and began working on Wall Street in 1968.^{1 · 2}

He entered publishing in 1972 after borrowing $5,000 from his sister Elaine to buy Impact, a beverage-alcohol trade newsletter. He began working on it full time in 1975. In 1979, he acquired The Wine Spectator, then a free newspaper distributed through wine shops. Its staff moved from San Diego to San Francisco in 1982; the publication adopted a 100-point wine-rating scale in 1985 and became a glossy magazine following a 1987 redesign.^{1 · 2}

Industry and educational initiatives

Shanken established the Wine Spectator Grand Award in 1981, followed by 2 further distinctions in 1985, forming the publication’s Restaurant Awards program. He also launched the Wine Experience and founded the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation in 1983 to support education in winemaking and hospitality. According to Wine Industry Advisor, the Wine Experience has raised more than $40 million for scholarships and grants through the foundation.¹

His company’s portfolio also included Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Cigar Aficionado. It acquired Food Arts and Malt Advocate, which was renamed Whisky Advocate. Shanken is survived by his wife, Hazel; his sisters, Elaine and Susan; his daughters, Jessica Shanken Reid, Samantha Shanken Baker and Allison Cohen; and 4 grandchildren, Jake, Lauren, Asher and Jordan.^{1 · 2}