Peter Sichel led one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th century. Born in 1922 in Mainz, Germany, to a prominent Jewish wine family, Peter Sichel escaped Nazi persecution and emigrated to the United States in 1941. During World War II, he joined the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), later becoming one of the C.I.A.’s leading operatives in postwar Berlin and Hong Kong. In 1959, disillusioned by covert operations that he believed disregarded intelligence findings, he left the agency to reinvent himself in the world of wine.
Taking over the American branch of his family’s firm, H. Sichel Söhne, Sichel transformed Blue Nun into a global brand through savvy marketing and strategic partnerships. Mr. Sichel recounted his espionage exploits in his 2016 memoir, The Secrets of My Life: Vintner, Prisoner, Soldier, Spy. He is the subject of the documentary film The Last Spy set to release this year. Now passed at the age of 102, the items from his estate offer a rare glimpse into the life of a man who moved with ease between the worlds of espionage, international business, and cultivated living.
Photo Courtesy of New York Times
