Ashley Hepworth

Ashley Hepworth’s passion for wine is matched by her love of fine food. She attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where she earned a B.S. in biology and a minor in chemistry. During her college years, she held positions in the kitchens of some of Durango’s finest restaurants and later with the celebrated Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago. Even though she was brought up by parents with adventurous tastes in food, as Ashley says, “I was exposed to so many different types of foods there—herbs, spices, produce, meat—[so] even with my upbringing, working at a restaurant really broadened my palate” and exposed her to the world of wine.

Now a renowned winemaker, Ashley joined Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1999 as a harvest intern and stayed on to become a laboratory technician and enologist. In 2004, she became associate winemaker, working closely with a colleague to oversee day-to-day winemaking operations. The next year, she gained formal international experience by working a harvest in Bordeaux at Château Angélus in St. Émilion and furthered her education in viticulture and enology by enrolling in the UC Davis winemaking certificate program, which she completed in 2006.

Ashley was promoted to winemaker at Phelps in October 2008. There, she crafted Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, sparkling wine, and Insignia, the winery’s iconic signature red blend. Dedicated to advancing winemaking practices throughout the Napa Valley, she endeavored to establish critical quality-control protocols at the winery. She was also passionate about collaborating with colleagues throughout the Valley, and welcomed any opportunity to connect and discuss the triumphs and struggles winemakers face throughout the year. As Ashley says, “. . . there is no one perfect way to create a great bottle of wine, and by learning from each other we all succeed.” She credits the winery’s founder, Joseph Phelps, with establishing the philosophical approach that guided the winery. In her own words, “He always pushed the winemaking team to explore, to do better. There was no limit. He always said ‘don’t stop at good, make it great.’”

As noted earlier, Audrey joined Joseph Phelps as a harvest intern and then served as its lead winemaker until 2023, during which time she and her team crafted more than 100 critically-acclaimed wines, in addition to the brand's iconic flagship wine "Insignia." LVMH’s Moet Hennessy division acquired Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 2022. Shortly thereafter, Ashley left Joseph Phelps and launched Ashley Hepworth Wine Consulting.

To quote Ashley, “I have dedicated my career to advancing winemaking practices to achieve the highest quality wines. . . . I am excited to leverage this expertise to support independent brands and wineries in advancing their production quality.” Ashley was named winemaker for the Phifer Pavitt winery in Calistoga in mid-2024. In 2026, she began collaborating with Molly Hill and Sally Johnson Blum in crafting a high-end Rosé under the Abloom label.

Ashley lives with her husband and two children in St. Helena. When not working at the winery, she is an avid skier, loves hiking and mountain biking and is noted for her mountain-climbing skills, having summited many of California’s peaks of over 14 thousand feet, as well as Mt. Kilimanjaro. She somehow finds the time to participate in several professional organizations, including the Napa Valley Vintners, Napa Valley Wine Tech, and Women for Wine Sense.