A French wine empire that encompassed Champagne and Burgundy has lost its figurehead with the death of Joseph Henriot in Paris at the age of 79, according to his son, Thomas.

Henriot was president of Groupe La Vigie, which owned Champagne Henriot, Burgundy giant Bouchard Père et Fils and Chablis producer William Fèvre, and was a major figure in the French wine industry.

He was an agronomy student in paris in 1957 when his father died, so he returned to Champagne to work at the the family house. He became president of the company in 1962 and built the family fortunes along the way, including the acquisition of the then-struggling Charles Heidsieck house in 1975. He remained in charge until selling out to the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group in 1985 and joining the board.

While at LVMH, he became head of Veuve Clicquot and persuaded the group to invest in the Cloudy Bay winery in New Zealand, as well as other wineries in Australia and California.

He went out on his own in 1994, buying the family Champagne house back from LVMH. The Henriot house had been in existence since 1808 and became the official supplier of Champagne to the Hapsburg court.

Henriot then expanded into Burgundy in 1995, with the purchase of the Beaune negociant Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils. As well as the négociant side of the business, the purchase included 84ha (207 acres) of grand and premier cru vineyards.

The company then acquired the William Fèvre business in 1998 and its latest addition was the 50-hectare (124-acre) Villa Ponciago property in Beaujolais.

Henriot died on Monday and is survived by his wife and three children.