Frank Schoonmaker
Encyclopedia
Frank Musselman Schoonmaker (August 20, 1905 - 1976) 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
. He wrote two travel guides, Through Europe on Two Dollars a Day and Come with me to France, and, with the approaching end of Prohibition in the United States
, researched a series of articles for The New Yorker
. While involved in this latter project he met Raymond Baudoin, the editor of the La Revue du vin de France
, who took him under his wing and taught him about wine, touring the various wine regions of France
.
Schoonmaker also collaborated in the wine trade with Alexis Lichine
, another wine writer, and the pair was considered the two most influential wine writers in the US for several decades. In January 1976, Frank Schoonmaker died at his home at 14 East 69th Street in New York City.
or O.S.S. After the war, Alexis Lichine negotiated a full partnership with Schoonmaker, but the wine partnership ended bitterly. In 1946, after many months of trying to find a compromise that would work for both, Lichine went to work as the import-export manager for United Distillers of America.
In 1972 The ‘Frank Schoonmaker Selections’ company was purchased by a division of the Souverain wine conglomerate. It was owned by Pillsbury of Minneapolis, Minnesota
. In 1974 the Souverain wineries and the Frank Schoonmaker Import wine business were sold to St. Helena’s Freemark Abbey wine group, and was renamed Rutherford Hill Winery. The same year a group of 179 grape growers bought the Alexander Valley Souverain facility. It has since become the property of Francis Ford Coppola
. The Frank Schoonmaker Selections division was liquidated in 1975.
and Almaden
, Schoonmaker in collaboration with Lichine introduced the idea of labeling wines using varietal
names (such as Pinot Noir
, Chardonnay
, or Riesling
) rather than semi-generic
names borrowed from European regions ("Burgundy", "Chablis", "Rhine", etc.). Schoonmaker claimed that "the more specific the name, the better the wine"
. While Schoonmaker and Lichine was promoting the practice in California already around 1940, it did not become truly widespread until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Robert Mondavi
was one of the first to label the majority of his wines by varietal names and was tireless in promoting the practice. This has become the standard in New World wine
and some European producers are adopting the practice because of consumer demand.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
writer and wine merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
. He was born in Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota,United States. The population was 10,494 at the 2010 census.- History :Prior to the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans who would spear fish in the creek...
, and attended two years at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, after which he dropped out of in 1925 to live and travel in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He wrote two travel guides, Through Europe on Two Dollars a Day and Come with me to France, and, with the approaching end of Prohibition in the United States
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...
, researched a series of articles for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. While involved in this latter project he met Raymond Baudoin, the editor of the La Revue du vin de France
La Revue du vin de France
La Revue du vin de France is a French magazine on wine published monthly. The publication has been described by Jancis Robinson as "France's only serious wine magazine"....
, who took him under his wing and taught him about wine, touring the various wine regions of France
French wine
French 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...
.
Schoonmaker also collaborated in the wine trade with Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine
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...
, another wine writer, and the pair was considered the two most influential wine writers in the US for several decades. In January 1976, Frank Schoonmaker died at his home at 14 East 69th Street in New York City.
Army service
In 1939 Schoonmaker joined a new division of the U.S. Army known as the Office of Strategic ServicesOffice of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
or O.S.S. After the war, Alexis Lichine negotiated a full partnership with Schoonmaker, but the wine partnership ended bitterly. In 1946, after many months of trying to find a compromise that would work for both, Lichine went to work as the import-export manager for United Distillers of America.
Wine writings and marketing
Schoonmaker's importance was both as a writer, the author of the Complete Wine Book (1934) and later the classic Frank Schoonmaker's Encyclopedia of Wine, and as a wine importer, who found American markets especially for small scale growers in Burgundy such as Domaine Ponsot in Morey St Denis and the Marquis d'Angerville in Volnay. Together with Baudoin, Schoonmaker played a seminal role in creating a market for wines bottled by the grower/winemaker rather than by a negotiant - a merchant/shipper. He started "Frank Schoonmaker Selections" in 1936 in New York City.In 1972 The ‘Frank Schoonmaker Selections’ company was purchased by a division of the Souverain wine conglomerate. It was owned by Pillsbury of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. In 1974 the Souverain wineries and the Frank Schoonmaker Import wine business were sold to St. Helena’s Freemark Abbey wine group, and was renamed Rutherford Hill Winery. The same year a group of 179 grape growers bought the Alexander Valley Souverain facility. It has since become the property of Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
. The Frank Schoonmaker Selections division was liquidated in 1975.
Consulting work
As a consultant to such Californian wineries as WenteWente 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:...
and Almaden
Almaden Vineyards
Almaden Vineyards is a winery located in Escalon and Madera, California. They claim to be California's oldest winery.Their original location was at the Old Almaden Winery south of San José between Los Gatos and Almaden...
, Schoonmaker in collaboration with Lichine introduced the idea of labeling wines using varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
names (such as Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, or Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
) rather than semi-generic
Semi-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...
names borrowed from European regions ("Burgundy", "Chablis", "Rhine", etc.). Schoonmaker claimed that "the more specific the name, the better the wine"
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
. While Schoonmaker and Lichine was promoting the practice in California already around 1940, it did not become truly widespread until the late 1960s and early 1970s. 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...
was one of the first to label the majority of his wines by varietal names and was tireless in promoting the practice. This has become the standard in New World wine
New World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.-Early wines in the Americas:...
and some European producers are adopting the practice because of consumer demand.