Remembering Two Wine Legends

Hey guys,

This week, we’re honoring two legendary winemakers we recently lost, Emidio Pepe and David Hirsch, two pioneers from very different corners of the wine world who helped reshape how we understand their respective regions and the wines that come from them.

Italian wine lost one of its most important figures recently with the passing of Emidio Pepe, the legendary Abruzzo winemaker, at the age of 94. Pepe founded his namesake estate in Torano Nuovo in 1964, building upon a family history of farming and winemaking that stretched back generations. At a time when Abruzzo was rarely part of the conversation around Italy’s great wines, Pepe believed in the region’s native varieties Montepulciano and Trebbiano, and particularly in their ability to produce serious, ageable wines. Over the following six decades, he would become one of the people most responsible for changing how the wine world viewed both grapes and the region itself.

Pepe was equally ahead of his time in the vineyard and cellar. He rejected many of the increasingly industrial farming practices around him, instead developing an approach centered around organic and later biodynamic farming, working largely by hand and allowing the wines to ferment naturally. In the cellar, the philosophy remained remarkably simple: minimal intervention, no filtration, no reliance on oak, and incredibly long periods of bottle aging. The idea was always to allow the grapes and the land to speak as clearly as possible. His willingness to cellar substantial amounts of wine for years, sometimes decades, also became central to the estate, proving just how beautifully Montepulciano d’Abruzzo could evolve with time.

More than anything, Emidio Pepe was a believer in Abruzzo. He spent his life championing a place, its native grapes, and a way of farming long before much of the wine world was paying attention. Today, his family continues that work, carrying forward an estate that has become a reference point for thoughtful, low intervention viticulture around the world. Pepe leaves behind far more than a collection of legendary bottles; he helped give Abruzzo a voice on the International stage and showed generations of winemakers the value of trusting your land, your grapes, and your convictions. His influence on Italian wine will endure for a very long time.

American wine lost one of its great pioneers recently with the passing of David Hirsch, founder of Hirsch Vineyards, at the age of 81. Way before Sonoma Coast became known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Hirsch settled on a remote ridge above the Pacific near Fort Ross. A Bronx native whose winding path eventually led him to wine and Burgundy, he purchased an old sheep ranch in Sonoma in 1978. What followed was nearly five decades devoted to understanding this singular corner of California.

From what we’ve read, the site was hardly an obvious place to grow grapes: cold, foggy, windswept, isolated, and sitting alongside the San Andreas Fault. Hirsch nevertheless saw something in it and became deeply committed to understanding the relationship between the vines and the land. Over time, fruit from Hirsch Vineyard found its way to some of California’s most important Pinot Noir producers, helping introduce a wider audience to the potential of the West Sonoma Coast. Hirsch eventually began producing wine under his own name, further cementing the vineyard as one of the defining sites of California wine.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of Hirsch’s legacy is the philosophy behind the wines. His life’s work was rooted in curiosity, patience, and the belief that great wine begins with truly understanding a place. Even after a serious accident later in life, he remained extremely connected to the vineyard and its future. Today, his daughter Jasmine Hirsch carries that work forward. David leaves behind far more than a great vineyard: he helped change how an entire generation thought about the Sonoma Coast and what California wine could be. A true pioneer whose influence will be felt for generations.

That’s it for today! Thank so much for reading, and as always, drink responsibly! 🥂