M. Shanken Communications

What M. Shanken Communications does

M. Shanken Communications, Inc. is a privately held specialty media company founded in 1964 and headquartered at 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, that publishes a portfolio of consumer and trade titles focused on wine, whisky, cigars, and the broader alcoholic beverage industry. The company's six editorial brands are Wine Spectator (consumer wine expertise), Whisky Advocate (consumer whisky), Cigar Aficionado (consumer cigar and luxury lifestyle), Market Watch (on-premise and off-premise trade), Impact (B2B wine and spirits industry data, published 16 times per year), and Shanken News Daily (morning email news service). Founder Marvin R. Shanken remains Editor and Publisher, with Laura Zandi serving as President and COO; ownership is concentrated within the Shanken family with no disclosed institutional investors or parent company.

The company operates four revenue streams: (1) recurring print and digital subscriptions for both consumer and trade publications, (2) first- and third-party advertising across owned websites, digital applications, and publications, (3) paid digital application subscriptions including WineRatings+ at $2.99 per month billed via Apple App Store, and (4) event revenue from ticketing, sponsorships, and premium experiences at signature events (New York Wine Experience, California Wine Experience, Big Smoke, WhiskyFest, Grand Tours travel program, plus charitable events). Distribution is described as global with no geographic restrictions, and the go-to-market combines direct subscription sales through brand websites (sales-led) with an event-driven acquisition and engagement motion.

The underlying technology stack is a digital publishing platform supporting branded websites (WineSpectator.com, WhiskyAdvocate.com, CigarAficionado.com), mobile applications with registered-user membership systems (WineRatings+, Cigar Insider, VintageChart+), and email newsletter distribution. The company integrates with Apple iTunes/App Store for app billing and uses third-party payment processors for subscription and e-commerce transactions. An adjacent operating subsidiary, Shanken Creative Group, extends the company's service surface into creative services for advertisers in the wine, spirits, and lifestyle categories.

Name

M. Shanken Communications

Legal name

M. Shanken Communications, Inc.

Website

https://mshanken.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

M. Shanken Communications, founded in 1964, is a privately held specialty media publisher operating six consumer and trade titles covering wine, whisky, cigars, and the alcoholic beverage industry for affluent enthusiasts and B2B trade professionals via print, digital, and event channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Print and digital subscriptions for Wine Spectator, Whisky Advocate, Cigar Aficionado, Impact, and Market Watch publications
2. Advertising Revenue: First-party and third-party advertising across websites, digital applications, and publications. Company describes itself as advertising-supported media company.
3. Digital Application Subscriptions: WineRatings+ premium digital application requires monthly subscription of $2.99, auto-renewed every 30 days
4. Events and Experiences: Signature events including New York Wine Experience, Big Smoke, WhiskyFest generate revenue through tickets, sponsorships, and premium dining experiences

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

M. Shanken Communications is a specialty media company that publishes a portfolio of consumer and trade magazines and digital properties covering wine, spirits, cigars, and luxury lifestyle, including Wine Spectator, Whisky Advocate, Cigar Aficionado, Market Watch, Impact, and Shanken News Daily. The company monetizes these brands through subscriptions, advertising, digital applications (WineRatings+, Cigar Insider), live events (New York Wine Experience, Big Smoke, WhiskyFest), research (Impact Databank), and curated travel (Grand Tours).

Product overview

M. Shanken Communications is a 50+ year-old publishing company operating a portfolio of consumer and trade magazines and digital platforms focused on wine, spirits, beer, and luxury lifestyle. The core products include Wine Spectator (wine expertise), Whisky Advocate (whisky content), Cigar Aficionado (cigar and lifestyle), Market Watch (trade market intelligence), Impact (spirits industry data and analysis), and Shanken News Daily (daily email news service). These publications are complemented by event brands such as the New York Wine Experience, WhiskyFest, Big Smoke, and Grand Tours, as well as digital products like WineRatings+ and Cigar Insider. The portfolio serves both consumer enthusiasts and trade professionals in the alcoholic beverage industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shanken News Daily: A mobile-friendly, daily email news service covering the spirits, wine, and beer business.
• Impact
• Market Watch
• Cigar Aficionado
• Whisky Advocate
• Wine Spectator
• New York Wine Experience
• A Night to Remember
• Els for Autism Pro Golf Tournament
• Big Smoke
• WhiskyFest

Products and services

• Wine Spectator The company's flagship wine publication, providing expert wine ratings, reviews, and lifestyle coverage on wine, food, fine dining, travel, culture, and entertainment for affluent wine enthusiast readers.
• Whisky Advocate Whisky-focused magazine and digital brand delivering intelligent, responsible, and joyful whisky content, reviews, and education to passionate whisky consumers.
• Cigar Aficionado Cigar and luxury-lifestyle magazine catering to affluent men interested in cigars, travel, sports, automotive, watches, fine wine, and dining, available via subscription (e.g., 1-year at $29.95).
• Market Watch B2B trade publication serving the information needs of on-premise and off-premise markets for spirits, wine, and beer, providing unique industry trend information to operators and retail stores.
• Impact B2B trade publication published 16 times a year, recognized worldwide as the Number One source for data, trends, and analysis of the wine and spirits industry for industry executives, suppliers, distributors, and operators.
• Shanken News Daily Mobile-friendly daily email news service covering the spirits, wine, and beer business, with global news, essential data, executive interviews, and in-depth stories for industry professionals.
• WineRatings+ Digital Application Premium digital application subscription providing access to the entire Wine Spectator database of wine reviews and accompanying updates, priced at $2.99 per month auto-renewed via iTunes/App Store.
• Cigar Insider Premium membership service for cigar enthusiasts providing exclusive content and password-protected access to Cigar Aficionado's database under a registered-account, single-household policy.
• New York Wine Experience Annual flagship wine-tasting event featuring seminars, tastings, and gatherings for wine enthusiasts, with proceeds benefiting wine industry charities and scholarships.
• Big Smoke Cigar Aficionado's signature event featuring cigar tastings and lifestyle experiences for cigar and luxury-lifestyle enthusiasts.
• WhiskyFest Whisky Advocate's signature event featuring whisky tastings and educational sessions for whisky consumers.
• Grand Tours Wine Spectator's travel program offering curated tours and travel experiences for wine enthusiasts.
• Impact Databank Research Reports Research reports and data products from Impact magazine providing market intelligence for the wine and spirits industry, including exclusive industry data and analysis for trade subscribers.
• Impact Marketing Seminar Industry seminar hosted by Impact magazine for marketing and business development in the wine and spirits sector.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Drinks Business (Union Press / Agile Media): Trade and consumer publication covering wine, spirits, and beer with a global news site and events portfolio. Operates in the same niche (drinks trade media + events) with the same hybrid B2B/B2C business model as M. Shanken's Impact/Market Watch/Whisky Advocate.
• Decanter (Time Inc. / Future plc portfolio): Long-running consumer wine magazine, website, and events producer. Directly comparable to Wine Spectator in category (wine consumer media), editorial authority, and reliance on subscriptions plus events revenue.
• Wine Enthusiast Companies: Multimedia wine brand spanning magazine, ratings database, retail (Wine Enthusiast Commerce), and events/tastings. Closest U.S. peer given the consumer-wine ratings/reviews archive and adjacent commerce model that mirrors Wine Spectator + WineRatings+.
• Whisky Magazine (Paragraph Publishing): Consumer-facing whisky title and events business. Direct counterpart to Whisky Advocate in category, mission (enthusiast reviews and lifestyle), and reliance on print subscriptions plus whisky-tasting events.
• Cigar Journal (Bacci Publishing): International cigar enthusiast publication covering ratings, lifestyle, and events. Direct peer to Cigar Aficionado and Big Smoke in both editorial niche and experiential revenue model.
• Drinks International (Union Press / Agile Media group): Global B2B trade magazine for the spirits and wine industry with rankings, reviews, and events. Comparable to Impact/Market Watch as a B2B data-and-trends publication serving drinks executives.

Emerging players

• SevenFifty Daily / SevenFifty (Beverage Media Group): Digital-first B2B media and data platform for the on-premise drinks trade. Overlaps with Market Watch and Impact's B2B audience but with stronger digital and data-product DNA, representing a credible next-generation competitor.
• BevNet (Beverage Industry Media): Trade media site covering beer, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages with strong new-product coverage. Comparable trade-media positioning for adjacent beverage categories not fully covered by M. Shanken's portfolio.
• Imbibe Media: B2B/B2C magazine and digital media focused on bartenders, bar programs, and on-premise beverage culture. Overlaps with Market Watch's on-premise trade audience and with New York Wine Experience-style experiential content.

Broad incumbents

• Robb Report (Penske Media Corporation): Established luxury-lifestyle magazine covering wine, spirits, cigars, watches, travel, and automotive — directly overlapping Cigar Aficionado's affluent-male lifestyle editorial territory but with a much broader portfolio and scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mshanken
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/m.-shanken-communications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about M. Shanken Communications