Miguel Lepe was one class shy of a degree in business administration from Hartnell College in his hometown of Salinas when he was pondering which elective he should take to finish. He liked gardening, and the vineyard/wine production class seemed interesting.
“I had never even tasted wine before,” says Lepe. His mom and dad, who entered the U.S. legally from Mexicali and Jalisco, respectively, in 1972, didn’t really drink alcohol. “But I just really loved that I could smell the wine fermenting.”
While his siblings pursued white-collar jobs, Lepe began to study wine at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2009, and he served internships at Claiborne & Churchill, La Vigne and Justin.
After college, he worked at a winery north of Temecula for a year, then made his way back to Monterey County. He interviewed with vintner Peter Figge, who toured vineyards with Lepe and even took him out to lunch.
“I’d never had anyone do that for me during an interview,” says Lepe of Figge, who died suddenly in June at age 47. “By the end of it, he offered me a full-time position, even though I was just applying for the intern job. I don’t know if I would have found that anywhere else, and I wouldn’t have started my brand if it weren’t for him.”
With a focus on Monterey County, Lepe Cellars produces about 250 cases a year of Riesling, Chardonnay, Syrah rosé, Zinfandel and Petit Verdot, the latter of which will go into a new brand.
While his parents weren’t so sure about his career choice, they seem satisfied now. “They like that I started a brand and am working toward something that I can call my own,” he says. “They love that the family name is on the label. They’re very proud of that.”
The American dream lives strong in the hearts of Mexican-American winemakers in California. Meet the industrious vintners pioneering a better tomorrow.
BY MATT KETTMANN