Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alison Thomson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alison, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
They raised me to confront my fears and overcome them. My dad was into adventure sports, downhill skiing, water skiing, and generally going fast. He encouraged me to do things I didn’t think I could like skiing down the most challenging run on the ski hill. I think in business you have to accept that there is a tremendous amount of risk and unknown, but having the confidence to rely on skills and ingenuity to figure out whatever situation you get into is a must.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My great-grandfather, Luigi Antonio Lepiane, came to the US in the 1880s from Piane Crati in Calabria, Italy. He made his way across America, began working as a wine broker, and eventually established his own grocery store and butcher shop in Hollister, California. I learned about Luigi mostly through my grandmother, Elaine Lepiane Biagi, the youngest of Luigi’s seven children. She was tasked with all variety of family chores, including helping bottle wine in their basement during Prohibition. Luigi was well known in the Hollister community, as a grocer, and as I later discovered, a legitimate winemaker following Prohibition. Tragically, he died soon after he set up his legal operation in 1935, known as L.A. Lepiane. Coincidentally, I discovered my great-grandfather’s wine brand only after I started my own label, also called Lepiane! About ten years ago I discovered a copy of his winery floorplans in the UC Davis library archives and soon after one of my relatives found one of his old wine labels. My grandma’s Italian traditions and stories of bottling wine with her dad inspire me daily nearly 100 years later. Every varietal that I make and every bottle that I offer is a careful decision based on nearly two decades of inspiration, guidance, observation, dedication, and sweat. My interest in wine began through my love of food and cooking, and studies in Siena, Italy during my senior year at UCSB. My interest in food led to gardening and eventually plant ecology studies at UCSB and Viticulture at UC Davis. My connection to Italy drew me to pursue an internship with Sergio Germano at Ettore Germano, one of the top Barolo producers in Serralunga d’Alba. That pivotal experience was the first stage in developing my own winemaking style that is so evident in the wines L.A. Lepiane now offers. I came back to California to work for Manfred Krankel under his Sine Qua Non label, Steve Clifton at Palmina, and Samara under Chad Melville. These experiences shaped by winemaking style, which is focused on selecting the best fruit and crafting wine with as little intervention as possible to produce energetic, balanced wines that pair perfectly with the farm fresh food that embodies coastal California.
My focus on Italian varietals, in particular Nebbiolo and Barbera, is extremely unusual for this part of the world. Nebbiolo is known to be particularly difficult to grow and make and requires extreme patience and time for the texture, flavors and mouthfeel to come together. I had the honor of pouring my first vintage of Nebbiolo for Mr. Darrell Corti, famed grocer and wine expert. He stated, ““The Lepiane Nebbiolo 2013 is to my mind the most expressive and best varietally typical nebbiolo wine I have tasted in California. It has the proper deep red, not black color; a fragrant aroma, of berries and tar, typical of Nebbiolo with the violet character called “goudron” so seldom found in this varietal. There is the austere character typical of nebbiolo that is even now beginning to soften and show its harmonious side.”
More recently I’ve also been making a Malvasia Bianca with pronounced honeysuckle, lime, lychee, orange blossom, and lemon crème pie, complemented by wet stone, briny, and petrol aromas. This white is alive and luscious on the palette, with bright acid that balances the richness. As the weather warms, this is a great option for a spring lunch or sunset with friends.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The wine industry requires resilience on a near-daily basis for anyone involved, but in my case starting out in the industry as a young woman working a physical job surrounded by mostly men, it was particularly true. I nearly left the industry after having a baby and not seeing a path to having a job and a child. However, when an opportunity arose to work part-time (something very rare in the industry) I took it. I got creative with childcare, sometimes bringing my little one with me to scout vineyards or work in the winery. Just because I hadn’t seen anyone do both motherhood and winemaking, didn’t mean I couldn’t forge my own path.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Most of my capital came in the form of sweat equity. That and my own savings that I had built up over several years with the hopes that I could buy a few tons of grapes and make a couple hundred cases of wine. It was several years before I was in the black because I hadn’t released any wines for several years. However, knowing the economics of starting a wine brand and having a solid business plan gave me peace of mind that one day I would see a return on investment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lepianewines.com
- Instagram: la_lepianewines
- Facebook: Lepiane Wines
Image Credits
Black and White with Barrel: Andrew Schoneberger Beach photos: Cary Wilton