Philippine de Rothschild, a pillar figure and doyenne of the wine industry, died in Paris on Saturday. She was 80 years old.
Her firm, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, announced the death, attributing it to "complications from surgery". Further detail was not provided.
The wine industry's 'Baroness' was the first woman in five generations to lead the extremely prestigious Château Mouton Rothschild estate.
She modernised and diversified her estate’s production and formed a partnership in Chile to create Almaviva wines.
As chairwoman and the major shareholder of the company, she introduced a second wine to Mouton’s production – Le Petit Mouton – and ramped up production of the estate’s major money-spinner, Mouton Cadet, which is the world’s most successful Bordeaux brand.
Madame de Rothschild had the reputation for having the aura of an actress: she was an adroit operator at promotional public events, and spoke both French and English perfectly.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
