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Mark Oldman

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Mark Oldman
Mark Oldman in 2024 headlining the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
Mark Oldman in 2024 headlining the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
BornMark Stanford Oldman
(1969-01-05) January 5, 1969 (age 55)
Manhattan, New York
OccupationWine critic
NationalityAmerican
Alma materStanford Law School (J.D.)
Stanford University (M.A.)
Stanford University (B.A.)
SubjectWine
Website
bevinars.com

Mark Stanford Oldman (born January 5, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, wine expert, and author of several books on wine. Founder of the wine media company Bevinars.com, he has been described as "one of the wine world's great populizers"[1] and "one of the wine world's great showmen."[2] He is regularly named the "audience favorite"[3][4][5] at major food and wine festivals and does private events for corporations and institutions.[6] He also designed and teaches a course on entrepreneurship for Stanford University[7] and was one of the youngest trustees of Stanford University.[8]

Early life

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Oldman was born in the Manhattan borough of New York City, the son of a pediatrician and a psychologist.[9][10] He was raised in the Martinsville section of Bridgewater Township, New Jersey and attended Bridgewater-Raritan High School East.[11][12] In high school, he served as president of the National Honor Society and a member of the wrestling team.[13]

Oldman received his B.A. and M.A. in English from Stanford University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He also received a J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he won the Hilmer Oehlmann, Jr. Prize for excellence in writing. He founded and served as president of the Stanford Wine Circle,[14] a popular campus club hosting tastings with California winemakers.[15]

Oldman serves or has served on five major boards of Stanford, including its top governing body, the Stanford University Board of Trustees.[16][17] As Stanford Trustee, he served as chairman of the board's Special Committee on Investment Responsibility (SCIR).[18][19]

Career

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Internship expert

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After graduating from college in 1992, Oldman and friend Samer Hamadeh conceived of and co-authored America's Top 100 Internships, published by the Princeton Review imprint of Random House. The book profiled the internship opportunities at such companies as Intel, Boeing, the Wall Street Journal, Walt Disney Studios, Rolling Stone, and MTV.[20] In 1994, book made the Boston Globe's best-seller list.[citation needed] In 1995, Oldman and Hamadeh wrote The Internship Bible, also published by Random House. The book saw 17 editions published between 1995 and 2005.[21]

Vault.com

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In 1997, Oldman and Hamadeh founded Vault.com, a media company that provides career information by industry and by Fortune 1000 company, as well as rankings of companies and firms.[22] He served as president of Vault.com until its sale in 2007 to a private equity firm.[23] Along with Hamadeh, Oldman won Crain's "Top Entrepreneur's" award[24] and was included on the Silicon Alley 100 list of influential tech executives.[25]

Wine and food media

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Oldman was lead judge in the PBS television series The Winemakers, filmed in Paso Robles wine country in California and in the Rhone Valley in France.[26][27][28]

He contributes to several lifestyle magazines, including Bloomberg,[29] Departures,[30] Maxim,[31] Travel & Leisure,[32] Inc.,[33] and Wine Enthusiast.[34]

Oldman wrote a wine column and chose the wine picks for the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray.[35] He has been the wine expert for Williams Sonoma, and wine columnist for the Food Network.

In 2005, he wrote Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine (Penguin), which is currently in its 11th edition and is published in Japan, Belgium, and in four volumes in France by Editions Solar.[36][37] The book boils the basics of wine down to 108 concise chapters. It won the Duboeuf Best Wine Book Award for 2005 and was named a finalist for Best Wine Book at the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards.[38]

In 2010, Oldman released Oldman's Brave New World of Wine (W.W. Norton), which profiles over 100 lesser-known wine types that are worth exploring. It includes interviews with Hilary Swank, Francis Ford Coppola, Matthew McConaughey, Jodie Foster, Ludacris, Geddy Lee, John Lithgow, and other high-profile wine lovers. It won the Duboeuf Best Wine Book Award for 2010 and was named an Apple iTunes “Best of Book of the Year”.[39]

In 2016, he published How to Drink Like a Billionaire (Regan Arts/Simon & Schuster), which details insider methods to obtain the best value bottles and master wine in restaurants, shops, and at home. It won the 2017 IACP Cookbook Award in the Drinks category and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for World's Best Wine Book.[40][41][42]

Oldman regularly hosts "Wine for Billionaires" tastings at his home in Manhattan.[43][44] Robert Mondavi Winery recently kicked off its 50th Anniversary Celebration with a wine tasting dinner at Oldman's Wine Sanctuary.[45]

Bevinars by Mark Oldman

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In response to the lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Oldman in 2020 launched a series of virtual wine tastings, classes, and winemaker interviews from his Wine Sanctuary in New York.[46] Titled "Mark Oldman Virtual Wine Tastings," they are frequently subscribed to capacity on Zoom and include such subjects as "Hidden California Wines," "Sparkling Substitutes," and "War of the Celebrity Wines."[47] They have garnered attention from media such as ABC News,[48] the New York Post,[49] and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.[50]

In 2022, these tastings became Bevinars, and comprise both online and live, in-person wine tastings. The majority of Bevinars focus on an educational wine subject, while others feature Oldman interviewing a top winemaker such as Marcus Notaro of Chappellet Vineyards or Jeff Mangahas of Williams Selyem.[51] They also consist of private events, with top companies from JP Morgan to the Jacques Pepin Foundation.[52] Oldman's Bevinars wine classes stand out for their unbiased approach, celebrity instructor, and entertainment factor. The Bevinars style was largely honed during Oldman's many appearances at major food and wine festivals, and has been recognized by The New Yorker,[53] the Washington Post,[54] and Business Insider.[55]

Personal

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Oldman is a noted art collector, with interests in Walton Ford, William Eggleston, Wayne Thiebaud, Harland Miller, and Vija Celmins.[56] Stanford University named the Graduate Lounge of its McMurtry Building for Art & Art History for him.[57]

Bibliography

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  • America's Top 100 Internships. New York: Random House. 1995-2002. ISBN 978-0375751691.
  • The Internship Bible. New York: Random House. 1996-2005. ISBN 978-0375764684.
  • The Job Vault. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. ISBN 9780395861714.
  • Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms. New York: Vault. 2002. ISBN 978-1581314885.
  • Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine. New York: Penguin Group. 2004. ISBN 978-0142004920.
  • Oldman's Brave New World of Wine. New York: W.W. Norton. 2010. ISBN 978-0393334845.
  • How to Drink Like a Billionaire. New York: Regan Arts. 2016. ISBN 978-1942872146.

Awards

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  • Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year Award, 2005.[58]
  • Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year Award, 2010.[59]
  • Gourmand International Cookbook Award, Best Drinks Education Book in the U.S., 2016.[60]
  • International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award, Best Book for Wine, Beer, & Spirits, 2017.[61]
  • Gourmand International Cookbook Award, Best Drinks Education Book in the World, 2017.[62]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marcus, David (2017-01-08). "How to drink with billionaires". TheStreet. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  2. ^ Salkin, Allen (2017-06-30). "How Much for This Jeroboam? For This Famous Chef? Food Festivals Lure the Wealthy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  3. ^ Girgis, Sarah (2023-06-17). "Mark Oldman on quest to show Americans they are all wrong about Aussie wines". www.aspentimes.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ^ Marshall, Wes (April 30, 2012). "Mark Oldman a Hit at Food and Wine Festival". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Jacqueline (2023-06-17). "Down to earth with fine, worldly wines". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. ^ Matsumoto, Nancy (2014-05-29). "Wine Expert Mark Oldman's Renovated Manhattan Home". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  7. ^ "Ingenious Entrepreneurship | Stanford in New York". undergrad.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  8. ^ magazine, STANFORD (2019-02-15). "Silicon Valley Pioneer and Arts Champion". stanfordmag.org. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  9. ^ "Food + Drink Interview: Wine Expert Mark Oldman On Drinking Bravely And Shunning Conventional Wisdom". Austinist. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  10. ^ Moreno, Katarzyna. "Lemonade stands". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  11. ^ Teng, Andy. "Intern to take Romanian recess from high court", Courier News October 20, 1990. Accessed July 4, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "What's more exciting working at the U.S. Supreme Court, or helping to draft another country's constitution? It's a moot question for most people. Unless you're Mark Oldman. The Bridgewater-Raritan East High School graduate is working this semester as an intern at the Supreme Court.... While the trip may be a highlight for him this semester, it's certainly not the only one, said the longtime resident of the Martinsville section of Bridgewater."
  12. ^ "Food + Drink Interview: Wine Expert Mark Oldman On Drinking Bravely And Shunning Conventional Wisdom". Austinist. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  13. ^ "Food + Drink Interview: Wine Expert Mark Oldman On Drinking Bravely And Shunning Conventional Wisdom". Austinist. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  14. ^ "Shelf Life". Stanford Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  15. ^ "In Vino Veritas". Observer. 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  16. ^ "Stanford Associates Board of Governors".
  17. ^ "New members elected to university's Board of Trustees for five-year terms". 2005-06-08.
  18. ^ "Stanford University, Board of Trustees, Meeting Records". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  19. ^ "University to divest from four companies connected to Sudan". Stanford University. 2005-06-09. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  20. ^ "Pay May Be Poor, but Some Internships Throw In a Car". Christian Science Monitor. 1994-04-29. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
  21. ^ "OCLC Worldcat Identities". Worldcat.
  22. ^ Dan Reich (16 April 2013). "Founder of Vault.com Discusses Startup Life and His New Healthcare Company Zeel". Forbes.
  23. ^ Ahuja, Maneet (March 17, 2008). "Owned and Operated". Wall Street Journal.
  24. ^ "2005 Winners". Crain Communications. May 2017.
  25. ^ "Last Call For Silicon Alley 100 Submissions: Vote Now". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
  26. ^ [1] Archived October 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "The Winemakers' PBS TV Series Announces Season 2 Casting Call". encyclopedia.com. 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  28. ^ "Food + Drink Interview: Wine Expert Mark Oldman On Drinking Bravely And Shunning Conventional Wisdom". Austinist.
  29. ^ "Why It's So Hard to Tell If a $100,000 Bottle of Wine Is Fake". Bloomberg.com. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  30. ^ "Departures: The Wine List: Teacher's Pets". Mark Oldman. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  31. ^ "6 Amazing Italian Wines To Drink Right Now". Maxim. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  32. ^ Oldman, Mark. "Global Wines" (PDF). Travel & Leisure.
  33. ^ Oldman, Mark (2020-02-07). "Neil Peart Wasn't an Entrepreneur in the Traditional Sense, But Rush Paved My Path to Success". Inc.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  34. ^ "Wine Enthusiast: Enophile House". Mark Oldman. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  35. ^ "Under the Hood: Mark Oldman - Man On The Move". manonthemove.com.
  36. ^ "Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine by Mark Oldman". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  37. ^ Les bons plans vin de Mark Oldman, Mes astuces ... - Mark Oldman - Solar (in French).
  38. ^ "Mark Oldman". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  39. ^ "Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year". books.wwnorton.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  40. ^ Oldman, Mark (2016-10-11). How to Drink Like a Billionaire. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781942872160.
  41. ^ Filloon, Whitney (2017-03-06). "Here Are the 2017 IACP Cookbook Award Winners". Eater. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  42. ^ "Regan Arts Award-Winning Design & Production". Regan Arts. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  43. ^ "Wine by Design in a New York Apartment". Wall Street Journal. 29 May 2014.
  44. ^ E Connolly (October 2, 2015). "New York wine guru Mark Oldman's billionaire wine tastings". Financial Review.
  45. ^ Andrew Dourenberg (October 2, 2015). "Robert Mondavi Winery Kicks off Its 50-Year Anniversary Celebration with a Wine Tasting Dinner Last Night in NYC". KarenandAndrew.
  46. ^ Hayes, Kelly J. (24 July 2020). "WineInk: The Mark Oldman tradition continues, virtually". www.aspentimes.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  47. ^ Bailey-Millado, Rob (2020-08-26). "Cameron Diaz's hyped 'clean' wine gets lowest rating: survey". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  48. ^ "Bon Jovi's wine does well in "Celebrity Rosé Deathmatch," but can't beat Brangelina - Music News - ABC News Radio". abcnewsradioonline.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  49. ^ Bailey-Millado, Rob (2020-08-26). "Cameron Diaz's hyped 'clean' wine gets lowest rating: survey". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  50. ^ Fallon, Jimmy (2020-09-25). "Sting Talks About "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and Its New Meaning; mention starts ~3:40, "virtual tasting for celebrity wines"". YouTube: Late Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
  51. ^ Writer, Jacqueline Reynolds, Aspen Daily News Staff (2023-06-17). "Down to earth with fine, worldly wines". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved 2023-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  52. ^ "Travel the World with Your Glass". Bevinars. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  53. ^ Crouch, Ian (2010-12-09). "Holiday Gift Guide: Drinking Days". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  54. ^ "Wine: Petite sirah deserves some love". Washington Post. 2023-05-18. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  55. ^ Gmoser, Emily Christian, Ally Giannini, Justin. "Inside New York's exclusive wine tastings for billionaires". Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  56. ^ Durón, Maximilíano (2020-10-12). "When the Pandemic Forced the Art World Online, Some People Began Collecting—Or Returned to It". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  57. ^ "Stanford University Art & Art History McMurtry Building Dedication". Scribd. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  58. ^ "Mark Oldman". www.penguinrandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  59. ^ "Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year". books.wwnorton.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  60. ^ "Wine Books Shortlist 2017". www.cookbookfair.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  61. ^ "Here Are the 2017 IACP Cookbook Award Winners". Eater. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  62. ^ "Regan Arts Award-Winning Design & Production". Regan Arts. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
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