Alexis Lichine
Encyclopedia
Alexis Lichine was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine
and a share of Château Lascombes
in the Médoc
. He was married to actress Arlene Dahl
from 1964 to 1969.
in 1913. His family fled to France during the Russian Revolution of 1917
, going on to the United States in 1919. He studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania
but dropped out because he felt he wasn't learning anything. In 1932 Lichine moved back to Paris and accepted a sales position with The New York Herald Tribune. In 1933 he continued in sales for The New York Herald Tribune in Algiers, and in 1934 moved back to New York as Prohibition
ended. He attempted to start his own import wine company but failed, and in 1935 worked for the Cork and Bottle retail store in New York, and became a US citizen. He then went to work for Saccone and Speed, a New York wine importer, and in 1938 he was hired by wine merchant Frank Schoonmaker
as his national sales manager following the repeal of Prohibition.
On the outbreak of World War II, Lichine caught the last American ocean liner out of Bordeaux, the S.S. Manhattan. During the war he served in the United States Army Military Intelligence, in Europe and North Africa and was discharged as a Major. He was given the rank of Major by the commanding headquarters of the Delta Bar Section of the US Military Intelligence. He was released at Fort Dix, New Jersey on April 18, 1946. He was awarded the Order of Leopold, the Belgium Bronze Star and the WWII recognition from the French Legion of Honor.( see The Pope of Wine- the biography of Alexis Lichine in the sources book section).
On his return from the war, Lichine asked for full partnership in the company. Schoonmaker declined and Lichine left. In 1946 he went to work for the import wine division of United Distillers of America. In 1947 he purchased a cotton farm in Jacks Bay in St. Croix. In the same year he married the Countess Renee de Villeneuve in New York. In July 1948 he was hired by Claude Phillipe of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to buy wines in Europe for them. The same year he was divorced from the Countess. In 1949 Alexis hired Pierre de Wilde (from Château du Tertre
) as his assistant wine buyer. In 1950 Lichine became the export manager for Château Haut-Brion
. In 1955 Lichine founded Alexis Lichine Negocients in Long Island City, New York. He moved to Margaux
to set up a shipping organization, Lichine & Cie., which became a leading exporter of first quality wines. In 1951 Lichine purchased Château Prieuré-Lichine
and in 1952 also became part owner and manager of Château Lascombes
. In the same year he started billboard advertising of his wine tasting room at the Prieure. This was the first time in the wine industry that professional wine tasting rooms were set up for the general public. In 1953 he purchased Latricieres in Chambertin
and Bonnes Mares in Chambolle-Musigny
. In 1955 Alexis Lichine married Gisele Edenbourgh. Their first child Alexandra was born in 1957. Their second child Alexis Andrew Serge (Sacha) was born in 1960.
In 1959 Lichine was a member of a committee that unsuccessfully launched a bid to revise the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
. Undeterred, Lichine published his own Classification des Grands Crus Rouges de Bordeaux
in 1962 and made several revisions in the following years while campaigning for changes to a classification he contended was outdated. His efforts led him to be referred to as "the doyen of unofficial classification compilers".
Lichine served as an expert taster in the New York Wine Tasting of 1973
. In 1987, Lichine was chosen the "Man of the Year" by the wine magazine Decanter
.
Alexis Lichine died of cancer at Château Prieuré-Lichine on June 1, 1989, aged 76. He was succeeded by his son Sacha (then aged 28), who later moved to Switzerland and sold Prieure-Lichine in August 1999. In 2008, he was posthumously inducted into the Wine Writers' Hall of Fame by the Wine Media Guild of New York.
labels. That is, they named them after the regions whose wines they resembled. For example, full-bodied red varieties might be labeled "Burgundy", whereas crisp whites might be labeled "Chablis".
California's Wente Vineyards
was the first winery to adopt the practice. After calling its Sauvignon Blanc
by its varietal name rather than labeling it "Graves," Lichine and Schoonmaker found its sales volume to increase several-fold. More important, they were able to sell it in the important east coast U.S. market. Others, such as Robert Mondavi
, soon adopted the practice, which has become the standard for New World (and, increasingly, some Old World) wines.
asserted that "Alexis Lichine, the Russian-American who loved France but hated the French, taught his adopted country to drink wine".
Chateau Prieure-Lichine
Château Prieuré-Lichine, previously Château Le Prieuré and Château Prieuré-Cantenac, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France, in the commune of Cantenac...
and a share of Château Lascombes
Château Lascombes
Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Seconds Crus in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855...
in the Médoc
Médoc
The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...
. He was married to actress Arlene Dahl
Arlene Dahl
Arlene Carol Dahl is an American actress and former MGM contract star, who achieved notability during the 1950s. She is the mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas.-Early years:...
from 1964 to 1969.
Biography
Lichine was born in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1913. His family fled to France during the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, going on to the United States in 1919. He studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
but dropped out because he felt he wasn't learning anything. In 1932 Lichine moved back to Paris and accepted a sales position with The New York Herald Tribune. In 1933 he continued in sales for The New York Herald Tribune in Algiers, and in 1934 moved back to New York as Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
ended. He attempted to start his own import wine company but failed, and in 1935 worked for the Cork and Bottle retail store in New York, and became a US citizen. He then went to work for Saccone and Speed, a New York wine importer, and in 1938 he was hired by wine merchant Frank Schoonmaker
Frank Schoonmaker
Frank Musselman Schoonmaker was an American travel guide writer, wine writer and wine merchant. He was born in Spearfish, South Dakota, and attended two years at Princeton University, after which he dropped out of in 1925 to live and travel in Europe...
as his national sales manager following the repeal of Prohibition.
On the outbreak of World War II, Lichine caught the last American ocean liner out of Bordeaux, the S.S. Manhattan. During the war he served in the United States Army Military Intelligence, in Europe and North Africa and was discharged as a Major. He was given the rank of Major by the commanding headquarters of the Delta Bar Section of the US Military Intelligence. He was released at Fort Dix, New Jersey on April 18, 1946. He was awarded the Order of Leopold, the Belgium Bronze Star and the WWII recognition from the French Legion of Honor.( see The Pope of Wine- the biography of Alexis Lichine in the sources book section).
On his return from the war, Lichine asked for full partnership in the company. Schoonmaker declined and Lichine left. In 1946 he went to work for the import wine division of United Distillers of America. In 1947 he purchased a cotton farm in Jacks Bay in St. Croix. In the same year he married the Countess Renee de Villeneuve in New York. In July 1948 he was hired by Claude Phillipe of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to buy wines in Europe for them. The same year he was divorced from the Countess. In 1949 Alexis hired Pierre de Wilde (from Château du Tertre
Château du Tertre
Château du Tertre, or Le Tertre, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France, in the commune of Arsac. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.- History :Located on the tertre from...
) as his assistant wine buyer. In 1950 Lichine became the export manager for Château Haut-Brion
Château Haut-Brion
Château Haut-Brion is a French wine, rated a Premier Cru Classé , produced in the Gironde region. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of the wine-growing region of Graves...
. In 1955 Lichine founded Alexis Lichine Negocients in Long Island City, New York. He moved to Margaux
Margaux
Margaux is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:The village lies in the Haut Médoc wine making region on the left bank of the Garonne estuary, northwest of the city of Bordeaux.-Population:-Wines:...
to set up a shipping organization, Lichine & Cie., which became a leading exporter of first quality wines. In 1951 Lichine purchased Château Prieuré-Lichine
Chateau Prieure-Lichine
Château Prieuré-Lichine, previously Château Le Prieuré and Château Prieuré-Cantenac, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France, in the commune of Cantenac...
and in 1952 also became part owner and manager of Château Lascombes
Château Lascombes
Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Seconds Crus in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855...
. In the same year he started billboard advertising of his wine tasting room at the Prieure. This was the first time in the wine industry that professional wine tasting rooms were set up for the general public. In 1953 he purchased Latricieres in Chambertin
Chambertin
Chambertin is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety. Chambertin is located within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, and it is situated approximately in the centre of a group of...
and Bonnes Mares in Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.It is one of the wine villages situated on the Côte-d'Or escarpment, and is one of the twelve Cote d'Or communes of France which added/adopted the name of their most well-known vineyard as a suffix to the original name of...
. In 1955 Alexis Lichine married Gisele Edenbourgh. Their first child Alexandra was born in 1957. Their second child Alexis Andrew Serge (Sacha) was born in 1960.
In 1959 Lichine was a member of a committee that unsuccessfully launched a bid to revise the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...
. Undeterred, Lichine published his own Classification des Grands Crus Rouges de Bordeaux
Alexis Lichine's classification of Bordeaux wine
In considering the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Alexis Lichine held the opinion that the list, some hundred years after the selection was made, no longer expressed the whole truth concerning the ranking of Bordeaux wine...
in 1962 and made several revisions in the following years while campaigning for changes to a classification he contended was outdated. His efforts led him to be referred to as "the doyen of unofficial classification compilers".
Lichine served as an expert taster in the New York Wine Tasting of 1973
New York Wine Tasting of 1973
The New York Wine Tasting of 1973 was organized by pioneering alcohol journalist Robert Lawrence Balzer. He assembled 14 leading wine experts including France’s Alexis Lichine, who owned two Chateaux in Bordeaux, a manager of the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, and Sam Aaron, a prominent...
. In 1987, Lichine was chosen the "Man of the Year" by the wine magazine Decanter
Decanter (magazine)
Decanter is an up market magazine on wine and spirits, published in over 90 countries on a monthly basis. The magazine content includes news from the industry, vintage guides and wine recommendations. Decanter organizes the annual Decanter World Wine Awards.-Wine Ratings:Decanter employs a 1 to 5...
.
Alexis Lichine died of cancer at Château Prieuré-Lichine on June 1, 1989, aged 76. He was succeeded by his son Sacha (then aged 28), who later moved to Switzerland and sold Prieure-Lichine in August 1999. In 2008, he was posthumously inducted into the Wine Writers' Hall of Fame by the Wine Media Guild of New York.
Varietal labelling
Starting around 1940, Lichine and Schoonmaker promoted the idea that California producers should label their wines by the grape variety or varieties from which they were made. The standard practice among New World producers was to give their wines semi-genericSemi-generic
Semi-generic is a legal term used in by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to refer to a specific type of wine designation. The majority of these were originally based on the names of well-known European wine-producing regions...
labels. That is, they named them after the regions whose wines they resembled. For example, full-bodied red varieties might be labeled "Burgundy", whereas crisp whites might be labeled "Chablis".
California's Wente Vineyards
Wente Vineyards
Wente Vineyards is a winery in Livermore, California and holds the distinction of being "the oldest continuously operating, family-owned winery in California." The Wente Estate is registered as California Historical Landmark #957.-History:...
was the first winery to adopt the practice. After calling its Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
by its varietal name rather than labeling it "Graves," Lichine and Schoonmaker found its sales volume to increase several-fold. More important, they were able to sell it in the important east coast U.S. market. Others, such as Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
, soon adopted the practice, which has become the standard for New World (and, increasingly, some Old World) wines.
Books
Lichine's writings included Wines of France, (1951, revised 1955) Guide to Wines and Vineyards of France, and Alexis Lichine’s Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits (1967). The New York Times wine critic Frank J. PrialFrank J. Prial
Frank J. Prial, who graduated from Georgetown University in 1951, was the wine columnist for The New York Times for 25 years, writing the weekly "Wine Talk" column since 1972 until his retirement in 2005....
asserted that "Alexis Lichine, the Russian-American who loved France but hated the French, taught his adopted country to drink wine".
See also
- French wineFrench wineFrench wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
- Bordeaux wineBordeaux wineA Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
- Semi-genericSemi-genericSemi-generic is a legal term used in by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to refer to a specific type of wine designation. The majority of these were originally based on the names of well-known European wine-producing regions...
- List of wine personalities