Emidio Pepe

Emidio Pepe's approach to winemaking is quite possibly the most unconventional I have yet encountered. Pepe treats his fruit and the resulting wines with the utmost care. All operations are meticulously carried out by hand. The estate farms its 7 hectares following bio-dynamic principles. For the Trebbiano the grapes are crushed by foot in a wood vat and the must is fermented for 8-10 days in glass-lined cement. After fermentation the wine is racked into 22-hectoliter glass-lined cement tanks where it ages for roughly six months prior to being bottled. The Montepulciano is fermented for about 10-12 days and subsequently aged for 24 months in glass-lined cement, which Pepe prefers over oak. Both wines are fermented without the aid of selected yeasts or temperature control. The wines are bottled with no SO2 and laid down to rest for several years in the cellar which holds extensive stocks of virtually all past vintages. As they age in bottle the wines undergo malolactic fermentation naturally. Before being released the bottles are opened and decanted one by one into new bottles after which they are re-corked, labeled and shipped. There is no fining, filtration or SO2 added during the second bottling. These are among the most unique and age-worthy wines being made in Italy. Unfortunately the practice of releasing small batches of the wines over the course of many years leads to a higher amount of bottle variation than is normal these days. That notwithstanding, tasting a well-preserved bottle of Emidio Pepe's Montepulciano is a real treat as the wines can be superb. Readers who want to learn more about the wines of Emidio Pepe might want to check out my in-depth article available on this site.