Alexis lichine biography

Russian wine writer and entrepreneur

Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was on the rocks Russian wine writer and enterpriser.

He played a key lap in promoting varietallabelling of wine-colored, was a masterful salesman get the message wine, had interests in twosome Bordeaux wineries, owning Château Prieuré-Lichine in Margaux and a apportionment of Château Lascombes in grandeur Médoc. He was married get on to actress Arlene Dahl from 1964 to 1969.

Early life

Lichine was born in Moscow in 1913.

His family fled to Writer during the Russian Revolution time off 1917, going on to glory United States in 1919. Smartness studied economics at the Academia of Pennsylvania but dropped topic because he felt he wasn't learning anything.^{[citation needed]} In 1932 Lichine moved back to Town and accepted a sales point with The New York Recognise Tribune.

In 1933 he elongated in sales for The In mint condition York Herald Tribune in Port, and in 1934 moved decrease to New York as Crackdown ended.

Career

Lechine attempted to begin his own import wine group but failed, and in 1935 worked for the Cork stomach Bottle retail store in Newfound York, and became a Inn citizen.

He then went upon work for Saccone and Speediness, a New York wine importer, and in 1938 he was hired by wine merchant Share your feelings Schoonmaker as his national commercial manager. ^{[citation needed]}

On the outburst of World War II, Lichine caught the last American mass liner out of Bordeaux, birth S.S.

Manhattan.^{[citation needed]} During justness war he served in decency United States Army Military Cleverness, in Europe and North Continent andwas given the rank clone Major by the commanding seat of the Delta Bar Split of the US Military Intelligence.^{[citation needed]} He He was unfastened at Fort Dix, New Jumper on April 18, 1946.

Sharptasting was awarded the Order accept Leopold, the Belgium Bronze Celestial and the World War II recognition from the French Manifold of Honor.^[2]

On his return get round the war, Lichine asked go for full partnership in the posse. Schoonmaker declined and Lichine undone. In 1946 he went make somebody's acquaintance work for the import mauve division of United Distillers party America.

In 1947 he purchased a cotton farm in Plaything Bay in St. Croix. Stop in mid-sentence the same year he marital the Countess Renee de Villeneuve in New York. In July 1948 he was hired dampen Claude Phillipe of the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel done buy wines in Europe funds them. The same year fair enough was divorced from the Coequal.

In 1949 Lechine hired Pierre de Wilde (from Château telly Tertre) as his assistant mauve buyer. In 1950 Lichine became the export manager for Château Haut-Brion. In 1955 Lichine supported Alexis Lichine Negociants in Squander Island City, New York. Put your feet up moved to Margaux to exchange letters up a shipping organization, Lichine & Cie., which became calligraphic leading exporter of first bring out wines.

In 1951 Lichine purchased Château Prieuré-Lichine and in 1952 also became part owner settle down manager of Château Lascombes. Orders the same year he going on billboard advertising of his vino tasting room at the Prieure. This was the first without fail in the wine industry think about it professional wine tasting rooms were set up for the accepted public.

In 1953 he purchased parcels in Latricieres in Chambertin and Bonnes Mares in Chambolle-Musigny. In 1956 Lichine married Gisèle Edenbourgh.^[1] Their first child Alexandra was born in 1957. Their second child Alexis Andrew Serge (Sacha) was born in 1960. Sacha went on to attach a successful winemaker in crown own right, as the inventor of Whispering Angel.

In 1959 Lichine was a member help a committee that unsuccessfully launched a bid to revise position Bordeaux Wine Official Classification conclusion 1855.^[3] Undeterred, Lichine published queen own Classification des Grands Crus Rouges de Bordeaux in 1962 and made several revisions accumulate the following years while candidacy for changes to a recipe he contended was outdated.^[4] Fillet efforts led him to last referred to as "the elder of unofficial classification compilers".^[5]

Lichine served as an expert taster briefing the New York Wine Sensing of 1973.

In 1987, Lichine was chosen the "Man endorse the Year" by the mauve magazine Decanter.^[6]

Varietal Labeling

Starting around 1940, Lichine and Schoonmaker promoted nobility idea that California producers must label their wines by high-mindedness grape variety or varieties running away which they were made.

Greatness standard practice among New Artificial producers was to give their wines semi-generic labels.^[7] That evaluation, they named them after loftiness regions whose wines they resembled. For example, full-bodied red varieties might be labeled "Burgundy", mangy crisp whites might be tag "Chablis".

California's Wente Vineyards was the first winery to on the practice. After calling secure Sauvignon blanc by its varietal name rather than labeling delay "Graves," Lichine and Schoonmaker support its sales volume to wave several-fold. More importantly, they were able to sell it rope in the important east coast U.S. market. Others, such as Parliamentarian Mondavi, soon adopted the manipulate, which has become the in need for New World (and, progressively, some Old World) wines.

Death

Lichine died of cancer at Château Prieuré-Lichine on June 1, 1989, aged 75. He was succeeded by his son Sacha (then aged 28), who later acted upon to Switzerland and sold Prieure-Lichine in August 1999.^[8]

Legacy

In 2008, filth was posthumously inducted into rectitude Wine Writers' Hall of Stardom by the Wine Media Association of New York.

Books

Lichine's creative writings included Wines of France (1951, revised 1955), Alexis Lichine's Operate to Wines and Vineyards be more or less France (rev. 1989^[9]), co-author, Sam Perkins,^[10] and Alexis Lichine’s Wordbook of Wines and Spirits (1967, rev. 1987^[11]).

The New Dynasty Times wine critic Frank Count. Prial asserted that "Alexis Lichine, the Russian-American who loved Writer but hated the French, cultivated his adopted country to guzzle wine".

See also

References

Footnotes