| Rebecca Wasserman-Hone | |
| Other Names: | Becky Wasserman |
| Birth Name: | Rebecca Louisa Rand |
| Birth Date: | January 18, 1937 |
| Birth Place: | New York City |
| Death Place: | Beaune, France |
| Occupation: | Wine expert, importer, promoter |
| Children: | 2 |
| Spouse: | Russell Hone |
Rebecca Wasserman-Hone (January 18, 1937 – August 20, 2021) was an American wine expert, importer, and promoter, based in France.
Rebecca Louisa Rand was born and raised in New York City,[1] the daughter of Louis H. Rand and Yolanda Y. Dragoș. Her father was a stockbroker; her mother was a ballerina with the Romanian Royal Opera House.[2] She graduated from Hunter College High School, and then briefly attended Bryn Mawr College. She had musical training as a harpsichordist, and studied composition.[3]
Wasserman moved to Burgundy in 1968 with her husband and young children, and lived on a farm in Bouilland. After a divorce,[4] she worked with a neighbor to sell oak barrels to American wineries.[5] In time, she became a wine agent, initially for a California importer, Kermit Lynch. She founded her business, Le Serbet (later Becky Wasserman & Co.), in Beaune in 1979.[6] [7] In 1997 she became a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole, for her services to Burgundy farmers. She was honored with the Decanter's Hall of Fame award in 2019.[8]
Wasserman-Hone was credited with promoting awareness of the products of artisanal vineyards in Burgundy to Americans and other markets.[9] [10] [11] She had little patience for fussiness about wines, saying "A wine is not to be discussed, it is to be drunk and give happiness and joy and a nice feeling to people."
Rebecca Rand married three times. Her first husband was Dennis Andrew; they divorced. Her second husband was artist Bart Wasserman. They had two sons before they, too, divorced. Her third husband was a British wine expert, Russell Hone. They married in 1989. After several years of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, she died in Beaune in 2021, aged 84 years.[12]