Fixture of Bay Area Wine Community For Six Decades Dies Unexpectedly

SONOMA VALLEY, CA — Leslie Hennessy, a longtime Bay Area wine educator, retailer, author, winemaker, and radio host whose career in the wine industry spanned six decades, died unexpectedly over the weekend.

A Sonoma resident, Hennessy was an active member of the statewide and North Bay wine communities for 60 years, serving as a wine retailing expert, winemaker, author, educator, and advocate for California's wine industry.

Hennessy hosted the weekly radio program Wine Around with Hennessy on KSVY FM 91.3 on Wednesdays at 1 p.m., sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for wine with listeners throughout Sonoma Valley. He hosted his final show June 17.

The program explored the professional worlds of oenology, viticulture, and ampelography, featuring interviews with winemakers, vineyard owners, wine merchants, wholesalers, and educators.

Hennessy guided listeners with a no-nonsense but playful sensibility acquired over the years through the seasonal rhythms of the vineyard — from pruning and bud break to harvest — as well as the winemaking process, including fermentation, aging, bottling, and sales.

A popular feature of the show, "Quiz the Wine Expert," invited listeners to call or email questions about any aspect of wine.

The Midwest To Wine Country

Born and raised in Minnesota, Hennessy attended the University of Minnesota, where he studied sociology and biology.

He remained proud of his Midwestern roots and often spoke about his journey from Minnesota wine buyer to respected figure in California's wine community.

Throughout his career, Hennessy championed wine education and helped generations of consumers better understand the people, places, and processes behind every bottle.

Before that, he served as president of Hennessy's Wines & Specialty Foods, a wine and deli store he founded in San Francisco in 1978 and operated for more than four decades.

Around 2020, Hennessy moved to Sonoma, according to his niece, Shauna Hennessy. He founded GourmetWines.com which he operated from 2020 until his death. He described it as a virtual winery in Napa where he made affordable varietal wines.

Earlier in his career, Hennessy worked as a partner at Astorian Wine Imports, where he purchased French and American wines and helped establish sales operations in California.

He also served as wine buyer for Surdyk's Liquor and Cheese Shop in Minnesota in the early 1970s.

In Service To Wine, Winemakers

Beyond retail and broadcasting, Hennessy wrote The Pope of Wine: The Biography of Alexis Lichine, chronicling the life of one of the wine world's influential figures.

A member of the Sonoma Home Winemakers, Hennessy most recently served as a board member-at-large for the club.

Members said that even during his brief tenure on the board, Hennessy made a significant impact by helping secure top-tier guest speakers through his extensive network of winemakers and industry professionals.

He was also working on a Sonoma Home Winemakers-sponsored scholarship program designed to support Sonoma County students interested in pursuing careers in the wine industry.

"Leslie shared his intellect openly and fully while in service to our home winemaking club," a Sonoma Home Winemakers member said in a statement. "We will miss his deep knowledge, engaging insight, and his hearty chuckle."

Hennessy also pursued winemaking himself. In 2005, he produced a custom-crush Sauvignon Blanc made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc Clone One grapes grown in the Big Valley American Viticultural Area of Lake County near Clear Lake, according to his website.

Describing the wine, Hennessy wrote that it featured "a grapefruit nose and bouquet, a table grape natural sweetness in the middle," and finished "dry and flinty."

Radio Call-In Tribute Planned

KSVY will honor Hennessy with a special tribute edition of Wine Around with Hennessy on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The program will feature remembrances from friends, colleagues, and members of the wine community.

The station will welcome phone calls during the tribute program from those wishing to share stories and memories of Hennessy. Callers can participate by calling 707-933-9133 during the live broadcast.

Information regarding memorial services will be available at a later time.