Pepi Sangiovese 2002
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"Blends grapes from the Sierra Foothills and Mendocino to produce a balanced. rich and harmonious drink with flavors of black cherry, tobacco and spices. In Chianti-like fashion, it's bone dry, light and delicate of structure, and rather bitter. The color is pale. This is a well-made wine that would be good with a wide variety of foods, especially hard Italian cheeses."
-Wine Enthusiast
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1999-
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A winding path through the world of wine brought Johnson in January 2001 to Pepi (owned by Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates in Napa Valley). Chris went to work in 1996 for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. Less than two years later he took on the job of winemaker at the original Kendall-Jackson winery in Lake County.
Pepi is something different, however, Chris said he loves its spontaneous, risk-taking approach to wine. He favors the crisp, unfettered and natural character of those varietals in his Pepi bottlings. And his experience with Pinot Grigio in New York and Sauvignon Blanc in Lake County prepared him to master two of Pepi's leading wines. It's all part of forming a closer kinship with the creative magic/science of winemaking. "The natural cycles, the creatively, skill, great people, beautiful land - all the connections come together in wine," Chris said. "Just punching down, you see the skins, the red juice bubbling away. There's something about that whole transformation. It's cool."