Michael Benedict is a renowned botanist and vineyard pioneer who changed Santa Barbara County's wine industry. He was  83 of melanoma.  He co-founded Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in 1971.  You can read a profile here.  

Don St. Pierre Sr., who won fame with importer and distributor ASC Fine Wines, which he founded in China in 1996 with his son Don Jr., has died at 82.  He St Pierre dreamed of playing baseball but instead led a life of global adventures that took him to Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Japan, among many other places. And, of course, ultimately led him to wine in China, which might seem curious for a man who headed Beijing Jeep in the 1980s, the first joint venture in China's auto industry.    Read the profile here.