Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre of Trinity College in Connecticut. In this interview, Jennifer discusses her career as a professor and wine historian and her initial impressions of the Oregon wine industry.

Jennifer talks about her education and path into her profession. While Jennifer was born in America, she spent her formative years from 10-18 years old in London. She started her schooling at Georgetown University with a focus on former British colonies. She furthered her education after studying abroad in Galway, deciding to get her master’s degree in Irish history. After moving to Paris, Jennifer developed her love of wine and the stories that come with it. Once she accepted a job at the University of Cambridge, she joined the wine committee where she learned a lot about wine. From there, she went to Trinity College where she serves as the chair of the history department.

Jennifer discusses her decision and process for writing her book “Imperial Wine: How the British Empire Made Wine’s New World.” With a background in former British colonies, the book focuses on Britain’s role in creating the wine industries around the world. Jennifer decided to write the book in 2011, and with a decade of research, she published the final product in 2022. The book went on to win the André Simon Drink Book Award of 2022 and the Gourmand Award (Best Wine History Book, United States) in 2023 from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Later in the interview, Jennifer talks about her future projects. Jennifer is working on a short book about how people use history to sell wine. Jennifer explains that wine is a narrative driven commodity that uses history and tradition to appeal to consumers. She is also co-editing a wine book with her colleague and has many other ideas for future publications. With a year sabbatical, she is hoping to reach her WSET diploma.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University in McMinnville on July 30, 2026.