User:Murgh/Alexis Bespaloff
Jacques Alexis Bespaloff (November 15, 1934, Bucharest – April 22, 2006, Las Cruces, NM) was a Romanian-born wine columnist for New York Magazine for 24 years and a contributor to several other publications. An author of six books, The Signet Book of Wine, first published in 1971, sold over a million copies.[1][2]
Career[edit]
| “ | It's not unusual for connoisseurs to look back with regret at having missed the golden age of their particular interest – the Elizabethan age for poetry, perhaps the 17th century for Dutch painting, or the heyday of Bach or Mozart. For oenophiles, this is the golden age, and there is every reason to predict that the next millennium will enable this specialized world to shine even more brightly.[1] | ” |
| — Alexis Bespaloff | ||
Bespaloff attended the Horace Mann School and graduated from Amherst College with a degree in English literature. He attended Harvard Business School briefly before dropping out to work as a publicist for Simon & Schuster.[1] For a period Bespaloff represented a New York wine importer in Bordeaux and worked a short period for Manhattan wine retailer Sherry-Lehmann, before he became a wine writer.[2]
His work as wine columnist for New York Magazine lasted from 1972 to 1996, while he contributed to several other publications such as Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, House & Garden and Penthouse.[2]
Among anecdotes frequently retold about Bespaloff is one concerning his telephone answering machine message, which was, "I cannot take your call right now, but if it's an emergency, white with fish and red with meat".[1]
Bespaloff was a 2009 posthumous inductee into the Wine Media Guild of New York "Wine Writers' Hall of Fame".[6]
Bibliography[edit]
- The Signet Book of Wine (1971)
- The Family Circle Guide to Wine (1973)
- Alexis Bespaloff’s Guide to Inexpensive Wines (1973)
- The Fireside Book of Wine (1977)
- The Frank Schoonmaker Encyclopedia of Wine (1988, revised update)
- Alexis Bespaloff’s Complete Guide to Wine (1994)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Prial, Frank J. The New York Times (April 24, 2006). Alexis Bespaloff, 71, Witty and Wise Guide to Wine's Golden Age, Dies
- ^ a b c Goldberg, Howard G. Decanter.com (April 27, 2006). Alexis Bespaloff: an obituary
- ^ Robinson, Jancis, jancisrobinson.com (April 24, 2006). Farewell Alex Bespaloff
- ^ Rourke, Mary, Los Angeles Times (April 30, 2006). Alexis Bespaloff, 71; Author of Popular Wine Guidebook
- ^ Bespaloff, Alexis, Food & Wine (July 2002). Wine: Many Happy Returns
- ^ winemediaguild.org Hall of Fame inductees 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bespaloff, Alexis}} [[Category:1934 births]] [[Category:2006 deaths]] [[Category:Wine critics]]