A Tribute to Mark Levin: Wonderful Man, Great Wine Salesman
The 2020 Bordeaux campaign is off and running with the release of Ch. Cheval Blanc from St-Emilion taking the lead. This is usually a very exciting time for our Bordeaux team, as by now we would have tasted the entire vintage. Then it’d be time to sell the new wines.
Unable to travel to taste the new vintage for the second year in a row, some estates overnighted their wines for us to taste; so, it’s still exciting. But it’s also bittersweet as, for the first time in 30 years, Mark Levin will not be a part of this campaign, as we lost him to COVID-19 on December 27th.
In my 42 years at K&L, I have had the great pleasure of meeting thousands of nice, talented salespeople, but Mark Levin was by far the greatest and most special of them all.
I will never forget our first meeting on a Friday evening in 1988. I was the manager of our San Mateo store, and, as I was walking out, I ran directly into him as he burst through the door with four cases (48 bottles) on a hand truck screaming, “Who and where is Ralph?!”
My first thought was, “Who the hell is this guy?!” He says, “It is a good thing I caught you, because you have some wines to taste! I tell him I am leaving, and he says to me; Clyde is your boss right? Clyde told me you have to taste all of these wines and find three to four good ones to buy!” They were all rock-bottom closeouts. I was not very happy, he reminded me that it would be in my best interest to taste or feel the wrath of Clyde. Again, I said to myself, “Who is this guy in a suit, with his tie halfway down his shirt, busting his ass for closeouts on a Friday night?”
This was the way he was then and the way he ended his career, busting his butt selling all levels of wine and making the deals happen! His work ethic was unmatched, he was the master of the “art of the deal,” the back and forth of negotiations, and “what can you sell it for?” Eventually all the wine was sold that night.
It did not matter if he was selling closeouts or Ch. Lafite Rothschild, his focus was the same: he came to play every day! Many people think that wine business is fun and easy, but to this day I tell folks: buying wine is easy, selling it is hard; you have to put up the numbers!
Soon, Mark had moved up the ladder and was selling K&L a lot of very fine wine for his company, when he met the love of his life, Cecile Leqocq from Nante, and they were married. We all became good friends with mutual respect, and our love and passion for wine. Many wine dinners ensued, the passion grew, and soon Mark became the Bordeaux Buyer for his company, covering most of the U.S. We always talked Bordeaux, even on his days off he would call me and ask what I thought about a certain estate. He was always thinking ahead to the next Bordeaux wine to sell.
In those early years Mark’s palate was developing, and his buying job was a huge one with millions of dollars at stake. He was smart enough to ask and trust the experienced, professional palate of Clyde Beffa and me. In 1991 (tasting the 90s) I remember him grilling me on the sidewalk in Bordeaux after a run to tell him what I thought was the greatest value; I told him Ch. Potensac. He then asked me to compare Potensac to darn near every wine in the Medoc! He was relentless and he could be a bit rough and loud sometimes, like me, but he had a heart of gold.
Mark was a key influence in K&L’s direct buy strategy. Very few retailers travel to Europe, do their own roadwork and tastings, create long-term relationships and buy direct; it’s too much work and costs too much money. The K&L ownership did the opposite, they sent out their trusted and talented buyers to do great work, while being supported on return by a strong staff in the stores. The results have been marvelous!
The San Francisco Bay area is the world’s most competitive wine market, and Mark was indeed a whirlwind working the marketplace, almost always with a big smile on his face. He made a lot of friends. But he was extra special to people working the area for the first time or salespeople from Europe. Many times, this included an invitation to his house for a home-cooked meal, made by Cecile on short notice! He would tell them, “We eat dinner every night!” I was always thrilled to be invited. It was a wonderful time in our lives, always lively and fun. Our children were young, there was so much joy at that table and enough great memories to last a lifetime. I have tried to carry that tradition forward with visitors from Europe. Mark really cared about other people—when he would ask how you are doing, he waited for a real answer. He cared.
When Mark retired, he moved to Florida, and it was hard for many of us because we had become so close. But Mark did what he thought was best for his girls, Cecile, Rebecca, and Sarah. Cecile became my official partner in my little tour business to Bordeaux, but humble Mark was just as big a part of our success behind the scenes. He orchestrated and inspected every room. He made sure all bags were perfectly transferred and in the correct rooms. And he was the reason the Champagne was always ice cold when the customers arrived.
Mark, Clyde, Trey, myself, and his close friend Sanford Rich, aka “The Baron of St. Louis,” made dozens of working trips to Bordeaux together and enjoyed special times. The wine and people have a special spot in all of our hearts. We miss him dearly.
Mark would have been 74 today, Sunday, May 16th. I look forward to having a celebration of his life here in my back yard in California and someday in Bordeaux. Tonight, I will open a bottle of Gonet Champagne and a bottle of Bordeaux to toast our good friend and his family.
Cheers to you Mark! Go Sooners! Go Giants!
- Ralph Sands, Bordeaux Specialist