Solano Cellars
Friday, May 8th
5-8pm
6 wines for $25 ($15 for Club Members)
Luigi A. Lepiane (Le-pi-annie) arrived in California from Calabria in 1917 and promptly opened a butcher shop and grocery in Monterey. Almost 100 years later, his grandaughter Alison launched Lepiane, a project named in honor of her grandfather focused largely on Piemontese varieties planted along the Central Coast. Alison didn't just magically jump from granddaughter of a humble, post-Prohibition country winemaker to producer of arguably the best Nebbiolo in the country. She's had stints at some of the most iconic producers on both sides of the Atlantic - from studying Nebbiolo with Barolo master Sergio Germano, to understanding the nuance of the Central Coast with cult legends Sine Qua Non, to unlocking the potential of Italian varieties in California with Steve Clifton at Palmina winery. Now, Alison is making elegant expressions of Italian varieties - Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Malvasia - that honor old-world winemaking while still reflecting the unique terroir of Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. (And she makes a killer Grenache, to boot!).
We'll have Alison behind the bar to pour her recent releases to offer insight into how she translated her family history, personal experience, and love of the Central Coast into some of our favorite domestic wines around.