Emidio Pepe
emidio pepe

Abruzzo’s legendary artisan — hand‑made wines that embody terroir, time and tradition

snapshot

Region: Torano Nuovo, Abruzzo — between Gran Sasso and the Adriatic Sea, with cooling mountain breezes and hillside vineyards.
Style: Traditional, long‑aged, biodynamic wines of purity and structure — unfined, unfiltered, and wild‑fermented.
Vineyards: ~17 ha of old vines (Montepulciano, Trebbiano, Pecorino) farmed organically and biodynamically, often pergola trained.
Farming: Hand‑worked, chemical‑free viticulture with emphasis on soil health and biodiversity.
Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks, no oak, minimal additions; wines bottle aged long before release and decanted by hand for older vintages.
Signature: Age‑worthy Trebbiano, Montepulciano and Pecorino that reveal terroir and vintage with nuance.

 

“We’ve never changed. Grandfather started more than 50 years ago doing all spontaneous fermentation, never filtering, never adding massive quantities of sulfites… for him that was just his sincere way of approaching a vineyard and a wine with respect.”

CHIARA PEPE

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  • Emidio Pepe - Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2016

    Emidio Pepe - Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2016

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Pepe family has been tied to viticulture in Abruzzo since the 19th century, but it was Emidio Pepe himself who in 1964 transformed the family’s identity by bottling and aging wines from estate fruit — something uncommon at the time.

Driven by an early belief in the aging potential of Trebbiano and Montepulciano, Emidio rejected mechanisation and shortcuts, working wholly by hand and letting the wines unfold over years in bottle and cellar.

Over the decades, the estate expanded to roughly 17 ha, maintaining its chemical‑free, biodynamic viticulture, and today remains family‑run with Emidio still active alongside his daughters and granddaughters — including Sofia (cellar & production) and Chiara de Iulis Pepe (winemaking and export).

Where The Wine Is Born

Emidio Pepe’s vineyards lie in Torano Nuovo, perched between the Gran Sasso mountains and the Adriatic. The region’s continental‑Mediterranean transition — warm sunny days and cooling night air — fosters slow, even ripening that builds natural acidity and complexity.

Soils of limestone and clay give structure and minerality to the indigenous grapes, while traditional pergola training and high canopy ensure gradual maturity and balanced phenolics in the fruit.

TORANO
NUOVO

How the wine feels

Timeless Patience

Generations of craft show in every layer of flavour.

Terroir Intelligence

Clay, limestone and mountain air woven into the palate.

Living Wines

Ever‑evolving structure and precision.

FOR THE NERDS

Emidio Pepe is one of Italy’s most traditional and influential family wineries, rooted in biodynamic farming and artisanal cellar practice that have barely changed since the 1960s.

Vineyards are hand‑worked without synthetic chemicals; many are trained in pergola, a canopy form that tempers sun exposure and promotes balanced ripening.

Harvested fruit is hand‑destemmed or foot‑trod, then fermented in glass‑lined concrete tanks using native yeasts — no selected additions.

Concrete Tanks are considered the “home” of the wines — neutral and stable, allowing subtle expression without oak influence.

Wines age 18–24 months in concrete before bottling; older vintages are decanted by hand and recorked to remove sediment and enhance clarity.

Though the estate expanded from a single hectare to ~17, core methods — hand‑sorting, pedal crushing, spontaneous fermentation, and long aging — remain virtually unchanged.

This deep continuity is part of why Pepe’s wines feel alive, evolving in bottle over decades.

“Grandfather always says that if you believe in your wine, you’ll want to let it age, as you’ll be sure it will only improve with time.”