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.

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 international experience by working a harvest in Bordeaux at Château Angélus in St. Émilion. Ashley also furthered her formal education by earning a winemaking certificate from the Viticulture & Enology Department from the University of California, Davis, 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.’”

In early 2023, Ashley left Phelps and launched Ashley Hepworth Wine Consulting. As she says, “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.” She was named winemaker for the Phifer Pavitt winery in Calistoga in mid-2024. 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.