Meet the Winemaker

Categories

Events Calendar, Food & Drink

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023  3pm - 5pm

Location

Details

The Crystal City Wine Shop is hosting Phil Long of Longevity Wines on Feb 8th from 3-5p for a Meet the Winemaker event at the Shop.

Longevity Wines is a family-owned, urban winery and certified minority-owned business based in the Livermore Valley wine region of Northern California. Founders Debra and Phil Long opened Longevity in 2008 when their winemaking hobby outgrew their garage. By that time, they had spent years visiting tasting rooms and saw a need for inclusive wine experiences. Their love of warm, welcoming spaces is evident in the cozy, barn-themed tasting room they designed together.
 
Debra came up with the Longevity name as a play on their last name that also expresses their enduring love for each other, for wine and for doing things together. Their Phil-osophy (pun intended) was to focus on the experience of enjoying quality wine: the food you have with it, the place you enjoy it and the friends you share it with—the pairings that make great memories.
 
Phil designed the intricate heart logo that graces Longevity bottles. If you look closely, you’ll notice it is filled with more hearts, grapes and twining vines. This special logo was inspired by artisan glass hearts Phil gave to Debra every Valentine’s Day. Her love of hearts became a big part of their everyday life and the logo symbolizes their life together.
 
Sadly, Debra was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016 and passed away in 2019. Phil draws his inspiration from their love story on a daily basis as he continues to build their brand. Longevity was named Livermore Valley’s Winery of the Year just a few days before Debra died and is now the third largest brand in Livermore Valley.
 
Phil and his son, Assistant Winemaker Phil Long Jr., produce approximately 3,500 cases of Longevity Vintner Select wines in Livermore Valley using local grapes. A partnership with Bronco Wine Company that began in 2019 has allowed Phil to make his Longevity Classic California wines on a much larger scale and bring Longevity to wine lovers across America and beyond.

More about Phil:

Winemaker Phil Long is the president of the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV) and the founder of Longevity Wines, a brand based on his love affair with his wife, Debra. They were an interracial couple focused on offering inclusive wine experiences until Debra lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in 2019. Phil personally designed the delicate heart logo on their bottles, then had it tattooed on his forearm before she died so that she will always be with him.
 
Starting with the first Syrah he made with Debra in their garage in 2002, Phil’s approach to winemaking has been to continually challenge himself to make the best wines possible. He is passing that diligence on to his son, Phil Long, Jr., who now serves as Longevity’s assistant winemaker. For their wide array of Longevity Vintner Select (black label) wines, Phil and his son start with locally sourced grapes from Livermore Valley. Their production and cellaring practices are always evolving and their wines have earned many accolades.
 
Phil partnered with Bronco Wine Company in 2019 to achieve the volume required for national distribution. He now makes his Longevity Classic (white label) wines using Franzia family fruit at Bronco’s state-of-the-art, zero-waste facility in Ceres, California. These approachable wines are available in thousands of stores across the country.
 
Like many people of color in the wine industry today, Phil had no idea wine could be a career when he was younger. He was born in Washington, DC, grew up in Southern California and graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in architecture. Phil used his artistic skill to build a successful career in packaging and store display design before becoming a winemaker. He was named president of AAAV in January 2020 and is devoted to elevating awareness of African Americans in the wine industry and paving paths to wine careers for all minorities.