Decoding Emidio Pepe: 13 Vintages of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne

BY ERIC GUIDO | OCTOBER 20, 2022 

There is certainly no denying that Emidio Pepe is an icon, not only in Abruzzo or Italy, but throughout the entire wine world. And while the reality is that the Trebbiano and Montepulciano made by this traditional estate are not always easy to understand, the wines are absolutely worth the effort. For the average consumer, the expectation of what Montepulciano should be is easy, fruity, youthful and cheap. The Emidio Pepe Montepulciano isn’t any of these things, nor would anyone within its massive following of loyal collectors ever want it to be. The Pepe Montepulcianos are essentially time capsules of the grape, made with the techniques that the Pepe family have used since Emidio Pepe began production in 1964.

A vineyard of younger vines used for the Italian release of the estate's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

The Pepe family has worked the vineyards around the village of Torano Nuovo, in the northern hills of Teramo, since the late 19th century. However, it was Emidio Pepe who envisioned that Montepulciano could be elevated through aging, in that it would be better able to express the qualities of the variety, but also the terroir and unique attributes of each season. At the time, the local farmers thought he was crazy, yet Emidio Pepe endured. His wines are now history in a bottle.

Old-vine Montepulciano in the Branella vineyard, planted in 1966.

Decoding the Emidio Pepe Process

It’s funny how simple it can all sound. Any article on the internet will talk about a hands-off approach, biodynamic farming and winemaking, spontaneous fermentation, refinement only in cement and long aging in bottles. Could the approach possibly be so simple? And if so, why can’t anyone else reproduce it? Vision, passion, attention to the smallest details, endurance, tradition, and most of all in this case, family, are the principles that guide the process from vine to bottle. What Emidio Pepe started, he handed down to his daughters Sofia and Daniela. Today, Chiara De Iulis Pepe, Daniela’s daughter, has taken the lead in the vineyards and winery. Throughout it all, the younger generations have worked tirelessly to continue Emidio Pepe’s lineage. 

As far back as the early 1970s, Emidio Pepe began replanting the site the family currently refers to as the “Mother Vineyard”, Casa Pepe, where they now source their vines through massal selection. Emidio Pepe was known as a master field grafter. He carefully chose each vine's location and its hereditary source. The Casa Pepe vineyard, which covers just 0.8 hectares and is located outside the modern-day winery, was planted using the traditional pergola training system. However, it is not the sole source of the flagship wine of Emidio Pepe, the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne. The second source, the Branella vineyard (2 hectares), also planted with the Pergola training system, is located a short distance from the winery and was purchased by Emidio Pepe in 1966.