Benjamin and Mayon Ichinose Papers, 1959-2019

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Summary

Abstract:
Collection contains files documenting Mayon and Benjamin Ichinose's activities as wine collectors and gourmets.
Extent:
10.6 linear feet 7 records boxes, 4 document cases, 1 folio
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Benjamin and Mayon Ichinose Papers, D-740, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The Benjamin and Mayon Ichinose Papers chronicle the couple's activities while they amassed a legendary wine collection that reached approximately 55,000 bottles. The Ichinoses' cellars were praised for their design and construction focused on maintaining optimal conditions for wine storage, a tenet Benjamin Ichinose learned from UC Davis Viticulture and Enology professor James "Jim" Guymon. The bulk of the Ichinoses' wine collection included French, German, and Californian wines as well as madeiras, ports, and sherries. This collection contains wine labels and menus, tasting notes, auction catalogs, marketing materials, newsletters, binders and spiral bound booklets, newspapers, and photographs.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Benjamin Ichinose was a noted Japanese American wine collector who was widely regarded as having one of the finest wine collections in the country during his lifetime. Ichinose and his wife, Chinese American Mayon (Tong) Ichinose, took part in and led gourmet experiences with fellow collectors, enthusiasts, and professionals in the worlds of food and wine. A 1979 column titled "From the Frying Pan" written by Bill Hosokawa named Ichinose as one of 15 Nisei who influenced America.

Benjamin Ichinose was born in Koloa, Hawai'i, on the island of Kauai, and his wife Mayon Tong was born in Oakland, California. Mr. Ichinose spent his early life on his family's farm before moving to California to complete his studies at UC Berkeley (1951) and UC San Francisco (1957), where he received his dentistry degree. After serving as a US Army captain in Yokohama, Japan, he returned to the Bay Area in 1959 where he met Mayon. Before this, Mrs. Ichinose earned her Bachelor of Science degree from UC Berkeley in 1952. In the following years they would have three children: Louise, Robert, and Lori.

In 1968, the Ichinoses moved to Hillsborough, California, where they developed a renowned cellar for storing their massive wine collection. Mr. Ichinose consulted with professors in UC Davis' Viticulture and Enology department during the cellar's construction, particularly Dr. James "Jim" Guymon, who had performed extensive research on the optimal temperatures to age wine. With this knowledge, Ichinose created a cellar with three (eventually expanded to four) rooms, each refrigerated at specific temperatures. Every room was designed to house specific varieties of wine at particular points in their aging process. In the Ichinoses' lifetimes, they amassed a collection of over 55,000 bottles of wine.

Through their love of wine, food, and travel, the Ichinoses developed lifelong friendships with various figures in the wine industry, such as wine critic and author Michael Broadbent. They were not only members of many wine groups and societies throughout California and the world, but Mr. Ichinose held positions of leadership in these groups. These societies included the Berkeley Wine & Food Society, La Confrérie de la Chaine des Rôtisseurs, and the Bacchus Society. Mayon Ichinose passed away in 2016 and after Mr. Ichinose's passing in 2019, their wine collection was obtained and auctioned by Christie's in 2020.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Louise Ichinose Bonomo, 2022.
Processing information:

Michelle Trujillo created this finding aid. The biography was written by Ezekiel McGee and Michelle Trujillo.

Arrangement:

The files are arranged in twelve series, with five further arranged in subseries. Original folder titles are preserved as often as possible to convey arrangement and in other instances, titles were devised or edited. Original folder labels have been retained within their current folders.

Series arrangement varies from chronological, alphabetical, and alphanumerical arrangement, but note that subseries 12.1 Grouped Labels is arranged chronologically by tasting date whereas subseries 12.2 Loose Labels is arranged chronologically by vintage.

The series and subseries arrangement of the materials is as follows:

Series 1: Menus and Tasting Notes

Subseries 1.1: Miscellaneous

Subseries 1.2: Societies

Subseries 1.3: Wine & Food Tasting Notes

Series 2: Oversize Wine Menus

Subseries 2.1: Chaine des Rotisseurs

Subseries 2.2: Other Events

Series 3: Correspondence

Subseries 3.1: Chronological

Subseries 3.2: Alphabetical

Series 4: Newsletters and Offerings

Series 5: Recipes

Series 6: Catalogs, Booklets, Magazines, and Guides

Series 7: Clippings Files

Subseries 7.1: Articles and Clippings

Subseries 7.2: Press Clippings

Series 8: Wine and Food Societies

Series 9: Speech Files

Series 10: Miscellaneous Entertainment Files

Series 11: Wine Cellar Files

Series 12: Wine Labels

Subseries 12.1: Grouped Labels

Subseries 12.2: Loose Labels

Physical location:
This collection is stored off-site at the Northern Regional Library Facility. Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections in advance.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Benjamin and Mayon Ichinose Papers, D-740, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website