Clos Pepe: A Vigneron's Quest For Great Dirt

"Clos Pepe: A Vigneron's Quest For Great Dirt" by Stephen P. Pepe is a compelling story about the author's journey from successful attorney, home winemaker and backyard vineyardist in Long Beach, Calif., to a true vigneron (French for one who cultivates a vineyard for making wine) in the then up-and-coming Santa Rita Hills wine region in Santa Barbara County. It's a journey of change and exploration at times light-hearted and ironic and at other times deliberative and frustrating with the culmination being the creation of one of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards and wine brands in California. "In 1994, after several years of learning the ropes with our starter vineyard in Long Beach, we purchased a real vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills," said Author Stephen P. Pepe, in the book's Preface. "Actually, what we bought was a 40-acre horse ranch in Lompoc, California, which we then converted to a vineyard by means of hard-labor sweat equity, ad hoc strategies applied to unanticipated problems and emergencies, and most importantly, our mutual determination to fulfill a dream." The cast of characters in Clos Pepe is a diverse one. The main players are Stephen Pepe, the storyteller, vigneron and an attorney by trade; Catherine Pepe, Stephen's wife, also an attorney; Catherine's son Wes Hagen, artist/scholar-in-residence, and Clos Pepe's vineyardist and winemaker; Wes's wife Chanda Hagen; and the original vineyard dog, Bud, the Dalmatian.