Sam Aaron
Encyclopedia
Sam Aaron was a wine
merchant and co-founder, with his brother Jack, of Sherry-Lehmann Wines and Spirits. At the end of Prohibition in 1934, Jack Aaron purchased the liquor store in the old Louis Sherry building. He and Sam set about recreating the shop with Sam shifting the emphasis to wine, having been influenced by a meeting with the writer and wine importer, Frank Schoonmaker
. In 1946, the shop moved across the street, where it remained until a second move in 2007. Aaron and his brother hired sometime actor and food enthusiast James Beard
to run Alanberry's, the gourmet shop next door.
, he wrote a coffee table book, "The Joys of Wine." He was a judge at the New York Wine Tasting of 1973
which featured many of the same French and American wines that would be judged at the Judgment of Paris. In 1984, he was honored by the vignerons of Bordeaux, the shippers of Burgundy, Beaujolais and Champagne with gala parties in each of those regions, in celebration of Sherry-Lehmann's half-century and of Aaron's contributions to the international wine trade.
Jack Aaron died in 1967 and his place in the business was taken by Sam's nephew, Michael Aaron. Sam Aaron retired in 1990.
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...
merchant and co-founder, with his brother Jack, of Sherry-Lehmann Wines and Spirits. At the end of Prohibition in 1934, Jack Aaron purchased the liquor store in the old Louis Sherry building. He and Sam set about recreating the shop with Sam shifting the emphasis to wine, having been influenced by a meeting with the writer and wine importer, 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...
. In 1946, the shop moved across the street, where it remained until a second move in 2007. Aaron and his brother hired sometime actor and food enthusiast James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
to run Alanberry's, the gourmet shop next door.
Biography
During the postwar years, Aaron continued to write about wine, now for the popular market: with Beard, he co-authored "How to Eat Better for Less Money" and with the book critic Clifton FadimanClifton Fadiman
Clifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
, he wrote a coffee table book, "The Joys of Wine." He was a judge at 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...
which featured many of the same French and American wines that would be judged at the Judgment of Paris. In 1984, he was honored by the vignerons of Bordeaux, the shippers of Burgundy, Beaujolais and Champagne with gala parties in each of those regions, in celebration of Sherry-Lehmann's half-century and of Aaron's contributions to the international wine trade.
Jack Aaron died in 1967 and his place in the business was taken by Sam's nephew, Michael Aaron. Sam Aaron retired in 1990.