Pépin Winery
Alsace, Scherwiller, France
Pépin isn't a single estate, it's a collective project, launched in 2020 by Pierre and Jean Dietrich, the brothers behind the well known biodynamic Domaine Achillée in Scherwiller.
Working from Achillée's eco-built winery, the Dietrichs teamed up with oenologists Xavier Couturier and Pierre Sanchez of Duo Oenologie, along with Arnaud Gestin and Raphaël Madinier handling the day to day, to build a network of small, independent Alsace growers all working to the same strict rulebook: certified organic, hand harvested, no synthetic chemicals, fermented with native yeasts and no sulphites added.
The name means "seed" or "pip", a nod to small beginnings meant to grow into something lasting. Every vintage brings a white, a red and an orange, sometimes joined by a rosé or pet nat, blended from whichever growers' fruit is showing best that year rather than a fixed recpe. The labels are illustrated by Michel Tolmer, a name well known to natural wine drinkers.
Pépin also collaborates on special bottlings, including Poiscaille, a wine made specifically to pair with seafood, in partnership with the French fishmonger of the same name.
