ROBERT L. PEPI

WINEMAKER/CONSULTANT

 Bob Pepi’s dad bought land inNapaValleyin the mid-1960s and started growing

grapes there just around the time that Bob himself was starting college.  While Bob’s first

love was animals and his major Zoology, it wasn’t too many years before the lure of the

vine took hold and Bob took courses at both the University of California’s famed

Enology program in Davis, and at The Wine Lab in St. Helena.

In 1980, his dad and he started a winery on the Oakville property, which had

grown to over 70 acres of some of the best vineyards inNapaValley.  For over ten years

as winemaker and general manager of Robert Pepi Wines, Bob’s wines were best-sellers

and consistent 90+ ratings-grabbers.  While best know for the winery’s popular

Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese wines, it was with his first Cabernet Sauvignon that

Bob received a “Cellar Selection” designation from the Wine Spectator.

In 1991, Bob became general manager for the California operations of Stimson

Lane, again producing award-winning wines, including a Cabernet-based Conn Creek

wine that received the highest Wine Spectator ratings of any Stimson Lane label to that

time.

His family sold the Robert Pepi label and winery to Kendall-Jackson in 1994,

leaving Bob free to take his considerable winemaking knowledge around the world as a

prized consultant.  With over 40 harvests under his belt, and considerable wine business

background and acumen, Bob has a combination of skills and expertise that have made

him a valuable asset.  In addition to numerous California wineries such as Whitehall

Lane, where his wine have, again, attracted 90+ ratings and were twice among the Wine

 Spectator’s “Top 100 Wines of the Year,” Bob also lends his talents to Bodega Valentin

Bianchi in Mendoza, Argentina (often listed among wine writers “best buys”), to the

highly-regarded Canyon Wind Winery in Colorado, and the new High Valley,Lake

County label, Two Angels and Angel’s Secret, among many others.

In 2000, a unique opportunity arose for Bob to enter into a long-term arrangement

with an exceptional Napa Valley Vineyard to utilize their grapes in the production of the

first wine he has owned since leaving the family winery.  The result, Eponymous, is a

powerful Cabernet Sauvignon that has really tapped into the great pleasure Bob gets

from making great wines and brings to vivid life his philosophy that wine should be

about fun and enjoyment.  Two years later, another vineyard – this time just over the

ridge of the Mayacamus Mountainsin Sonona – caught his eye.  Thus, his second

Eponymous — a Meritage named after the MacAllister vineyard from where the Cabernet

Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc come – was born.    In mid-2011, Bob introduced

two varietals to the Eponymous label – a Cabernet Franc from the MacAllister Vineyard

and a Syrah from vineyards in Lake County.

When not flying around the globe helping his many clients make some of the

world’s best wines, or busy tending to the vines for his own label, he can be found in

his home in Napa, CA, where he enjoys being with his family and his pets, and playing

an occasional “ugly” round of golf.