In the year that Walter was born, Emidio Pepe made his first vintage following staunchly traditional methods. Now on his 56th vintage, he and the next two generations have never changed this way of working. He is seen above at his white grape 'piste'.
In 1964, when no one would consider Montepulciano d'Abruzzo more than a jug wine, Emidio Pepe, at the age of 30 and without any formal training in winemaking or viticulture, believed that the grape variety would lend itself perfectly to making ageworthy, fine wine.
Endowed with an acute business sense, Pepe believed that focusing solely on...