The Pepe family is famous for their Montepulciano and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, cultivated with other indigenous varietals on 17 hectares in the Colline Teramane. On taking over the winery from her grandfather, Chiara told us: “My aim is to create wines of the same quality and soul as grandfather did, but to achieve that, I know I have to do some things very differently”. Much has changed since the first vines were planted at Emidio Pepe 50+ years ago, especially our climate. Our best chance to mitigate risk is by fostering diversity, and this is what Chiara was telling us about. In the past years, she has been cultivating biodiversity around the vineyard, aiming to mirror every plot of vine with a plot of rotating crop varieties. A win-win for resilience but also taste: more varietals of plants around the vineyard = more native yeasts flying around & finding their way to the cellar. And pasta for us!

Photos: Summer 2022
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