Before we turn the page on 2025, Wine Spectator's editors would like to remember the wine and restaurant industry pioneers, innovators and history makers we lost this year.
This year we said goodbye to many American wine industry leaders, none more personal to us than longtime Wine Spectator senior editor James Laube. We also bid farewell to California wine legends Don Bryant, Sam Sebastiani and Carl Doumani, as well as chef John Ash, all of whom helped define the tastes of California wine country. French wine stars Nicolas Potel, Château Pavie’s Gérard Perse, Château Rayas’ Emmanuel Reynaud and Ruinart’s Frédéric Panaïotis were also lost this year. We'll remember them all as we celebrate the new year to come. Click through on each name to read our full tributes to them.
In Sonoma and Mendocino kitchens and through his writing, chef John Ash helped teach America the joy of farm-fresh ingredients and clever wine pairings.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/ns_don-bryant-moma-031225_1600.jpg] [caption=Bettina Bryant and Donald Bryant attend the Museum of Modern Art's 41st Annual Party in the Garden in 2009; an avid art collector, Bryant served on the Museum's board.] [credit= (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)] [alt= Bettina Bryant and Donald Bryant attend the Museum of Modern Art's 41st Annual Party in the Garden in 2009.][end: article-img-container]
The Midwestern finance CEO and art collector founded his Napa cult Cabernet winery on Pritchard Hill.
[article-img-container][src=2025-05/ns_carl-doumani-obit-050225_1600.jpg] [caption= Carl Doumani at Quixote Winery, a building he commissioned from renowned Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.] [credit= (Melissa Barnes)] [alt= Carl Doumani at Quixote Winery, a building he commissioned from renowned Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.][end: article-img-container]
The former owner of Stags’ Leap Winery and Quixote followed his heart when making business decisions and was a key figure in Napa’s “War of the Apostrophes.”
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/ns_jim-laube-portrait-032125_1600.jpg] [caption= James Laube spent his career in Napa, highlighting the development of California wines and building Wine Spectator into a global name.] [credit= (Bill Reitzel)] [alt= James Laube spent his career in Napa, highlighting the development of California wines and building Wine Spectator into a global name.][end: article-img-container]
During nearly four decades writing passionately about wine, senior editor James Laube helped put both Wine Spectator and the California wine industry on the world stage.
[article-img-container][src=2025-06/ns_frederic-panaiotis-vineyard-061825_1600.jpg] [caption= Frédéric Panaïotis was born and raised in Champagne, where he helped in the vineyards at a young age.] [credit= (Courtesy of Ruinart)] [alt= Frédéric Panaïotis was born and raised in Champagne, where he helped in the vineyards at a young age.][end: article-img-container]
The Champagne native spent 18 years leading Ruinart with a dynamic, innovative style.
[article-img-container][src=2025-07/ns_gerard-perse-chateau-pavie-072225_1600.jpg] [caption= Gérard Perse poured his energy into Château Pavie’s wines, earning a promotion to the highest level of St.-Emilion’s classification.] [credit= (Deepix Studio)] [alt= Gérard Perse poured his energy into Château Pavie’s wines, earning a promotion to the highest level of St.-Emilion’s classification.][end: article-img-container]
Born into a poor Paris family, Gérard Perse was driven to succeed, first in grocery stores and then as a champion of Right Bank wines as the owner of Château Pavie.
[article-img-container][src=2025-06/news-nico-potel-obit-063025_1600.jpg] [caption= Within several years after his departure from the first négociant firm he founded, Nicolas Potel had already built his own domaine and a new négociant firm, where he continued making outstanding wines.] [credit= (Jon Wyand)] [alt= Within several years after his departure from the first négociant firm he founded, Nicolas Potel had already built his own domaine and a new négociant firm, where he continued making outstanding wines.][end: article-img-container]
The founder of his own Burgundy négociant firm later started Domaine de Bellene and expanded into Beaujolais.
[article-img-container][src=2025-11/ns_reynaud-portrait-112625_1600.jpeg] [caption= Emmanuel Reynaud did not seek publicity or fame, preferring to spend his years cultivating his vines.] [credit= (Roberto Petronio)] [alt= Emmanuel Reynaud did not seek publicity or fame, preferring to spend his years cultivating his vines.][end: article-img-container]
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape vigneron made some of the world’s most sought-after wines at Château Rayas.
[article-img-container][src=2025-02/ns_martine-saunier-obit-021025_1600.jpg] [caption=After building a well-respected wine import company, Saunier launched a new chapter as a producer of wine region documentaries.] [credit= (Rebecca Sapp/WireImage)] [alt= Emmanuel Reynaud did not seek publicity or fame, preferring to spend his years cultivating his vines.][end: article-img-container]
A trailblazer in the 1970s and ’80s, the pioneering wine importer and filmmaker introduced Americans to great Burgundy and Rhône wines.
[article-img-container][src=2025-10/ns_sebastiani-obit-101825_1600.jpg] [caption= Sam Sebastiani loved open spaces and winemaking, launching two wineries after leaving his family's.] [credit= (Michael Sasser)] [alt= Sam Sebastiani loved open spaces and winemaking, launching two wineries after leaving his family's.][end: article-img-container]
Sonoma Valley winemaker and conservationist was forced out of his family’s namesake winery after leading a shift to high quality, but went on to start Viansa and La Chertosa.
[article-img-container][src=2025-02/ns_peter-sichel-wine-experience-022635_1600.jpg] [caption= Peter Sichel and his wife, Stella, in 2015 at the New York Wine Experience, where he was an esteemed guest year after year.] [credit= (Shannon Sturgis)] [alt= Peter Sichel and his wife, Stella, in 2015 at the New York Wine Experience, where he was an esteemed guest year after year.][end: article-img-container]
After escaping Nazi Germany, Sichel found success first as a spy and then as the force behind Blue Nun and other wines, earning Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award.
[article-img-container][src=2025-01/ns_andre-soltner-obit-lutece-012125_1600.jpg] [caption= Chef André Soltner at Lutèce in 1984; he was not only a leader in the kitchen but a presence in the dining room.] [credit= (Susan Wood/Getty Images)] [alt= Chef André Soltner at Lutèce in 1984; he was not only a leader in the kitchen but a presence in the dining room.][end: article-img-container]
In three decades behind the stove at landmark New York bistro Lutèce, the Alsatian chef promoted fresh ingredients and good wine.
[article-img-container][src=2025-11/ns_jed-steele-obit-110725_1600.jpg] [caption= Winemaker Jed Steele was a big man with a kind heart, always encouraging people who were enthusiastic about wine.] [credit= (Nathan DeHart, Courtesy of the Lake County Winegrape Commission)] [alt= Winemaker Jed Steele was a big man with a kind heart, always encouraging people who were enthusiastic about wine.][end: article-img-container]
Instrumental in helping define California Chardonnay as an early winemaker at Kendall-Jackson, Jed Steele championed unheralded terroirs and newcomers to wine.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/ns_bob-steinhauer-121925_1600.jpg] [caption=Bob Steinhauer spent his life in vineyards, always asking questions on how he and his team could improve wine quality.] [credit= (Suzanne Becker Bronk)] [alt= Bob Steinhauer spent his life in vineyards, always asking questions on how he and his team could improve wine quality.][end: article-img-container]
After a childhood in raisin vineyards in the Central Valley, the college-trained agronomist moved to Napa and helped lead Beringer’s—and the region’s—evolution in premium grapegrowing.
[article-img-container][src=2025-04/bill-stoller-vineyard_1600.jpg] [caption=After growing up on a turkey farm near Dayton, Ore., Bill Stoller returned to Willamette Valley to help grow the local wine community.] [credit= (Courtesy of Stoller Wine Group)] [alt= After growing up on a turkey farm near Dayton, Ore., Bill Stoller returned to Willamette Valley to help grow the local wine community.][end: article-img-container]
The owner of Stoller and Chehalem wineries was devoted to the future of Oregon wine.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/ns_rudi-wiest-importer-winery-031425_1600.jpg] [caption= Rudi Wiest's passion for German wines took him to the cellars of top producers across the Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau and beyond.] [credit= (Courtesy of the German Wine Collection)] [alt=Rudi Wiest's passion for German wines took him to the cellars of top producers across the Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau and beyond.][end: article-img-container]
Legendary German wine importer introduced American wine drinkers to the best wines of Germany at a time when German Riesling was unheralded.
