The Italian winemaker Emidio Pepe has died at the age of 94. With him, the wine world loses one of its most idiosyncratic and influential pioneers. Pepe turned his hometown Torano Nuovo in Abruzzo into a pilgrimage site for wine lovers – and showed the potential of Montepulciano and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo.

In 1964, he bottled wine under his own name for the first time. At a time when Montepulciano was often considered a rustic blending wine and Trebbiano was hardly thought to have great aging potential, Pepe relied on patience. He stored a significant part of his production and proved over decades that both varieties can produce great, long-lasting wines. Today, the winery's bottle archive contains more than 350,000 bottles.

Pepe also took his own path early on in the vineyard and cellar. He rejected chemical-synthetic means, the grapes were pressed by foot, and the Montepulciano was destemmed by hand. He avoided filtration and fining, using cement containers for aging. What was long considered old-fashioned later made him a role model for nature-oriented winemakers. He was little interested in fashions or labels: for him, vital soils, craftsmanship, and the unadulterated origin of the wines were crucial.

Pepe gave the winemaking of Abruzzo new self-confidence and played a crucial role in making the region internationally known. The family winery has been run for years by his daughters Sofia and Daniela, as well as his granddaughters Chiara and Elisa.

(ru – Image: Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Abruzzo)