Epesses is a former municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron on Lake Geneva.

[1] Traces of a Roman road and coins finds indicate an early settlement in the municipality.

It was not until 1824, when the community was split from Villette, that Epesses attained the status of an independent political municipality.

Epesses is located at 464 m (1,522 ft) above sea level, 10 km (6.2 mi) east-southeast of the capital of the canton of Lausanne (as the crow flies).

The village is located on a small flat surfaces on steep slopes amid the vineyards of Lavaux on the slopes of Mont de Gourze in a scenic location about 80 m (260 ft) above the lake level of Lake Geneva.

[4] The area is small and covers a section of the Lavaux at the northeastern shore of Lake Geneva for 700 m (2,300 ft).

The municipal land extends northward from the shore of Geneva up the steep slope and down to the wooded heights to the east of Mont de Gourze.

The highest point, Bois de Romont is 864 m (2,835 ft) above sea level.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per bend Argent and Gules, overall three Pine-trees Vert.

[7] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Epesses is; 35 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 39 teenagers or 11.8% are between 10 and 19.

[10] About 39.2% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

[6] The historical population is given in the following chart:[2][13] Most of the houses in the village center are occupied by tenants who cultivate the 52 hectares of vineyards in this municipality.

It produces dry white wines, mainly from the Chasselas grape variety, but also reds (Pinot Noir, Syrah, etc.)

Notable vineyards exist at "Calamine" which is south of the village center by Lake Geneva and "Le Dézaley" in the east, already partly located in the communities of Puidoux and Rivaz.

In the tertiary sector; 34 or 72.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 6 or 12.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 3 or 6.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 1 was in education.

The nearest motorway junction is the A9 road which was opened in 1974 to connect Lausanne with Sion and crosses Chexbres, about 3 km from Epesses.

Epesses contains part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces.

The entire village of Epesses is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[17] Epesses villages has some densely packed wine growers houses, mostly dating from the 17th to 19th century, offering a picturesque townscape.

[18] From the 2000 census[update], 71 or 23.1% were Roman Catholic, while 163 or 52.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.

The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years.