
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.