An Interview (and a Game of Go Fish) with Legendary Winemaker, Robert Pepi

Bob Pepi comes from a long line of Californians, like his famous father Robert Pepi, who founded the family’s Napa Valley winery before it was sold to Jess Jackson more than a decade ago. Then there’s the Italian influence of his mother, a gentle octogenarian with striking features and a welcoming demeanor, who comes from Lucca, a small village in Tuscany. These two cultural influences in Pepi’s life, the Californian-Italian ties, have always been a strong part of who he is, and of the wines that he has made. Like a modern-day Midas, over the past few decades, Pepi has had a finger in more successful wine projects than you could imagine in Sonoma, Napa and even Argentina. In fact, his own project is named Eponymous, because he is not legally allowed to label a wine with his family name.