01-16-2019, 05:31 PM
Longevity Wines, where I have been working since 2008 and have been the assistant winemaker for 8 years, has been named the Best Winery in the Livermore Valley for 2018. This award follows our 2017 Pinot Blanc being named the Best White Wine in the Livermore Valley in 2018.
I am very proud of what Longevity has accomplished and my role in it. It is however a very bittersweet moment for me. Debra Long, co-owner and wife to Phil Long the winemaker is terminally ill with end stage pancreatic cancer and will leave us before week is out.
My association with Longevity has also come to an end. In a couple of weeks our house will be on the market and my wife and I will begin looking for a retirement home somewhere in the Oregon's Willamette Valley, possibly Washington State, or Santa Fe. I guess part of the decision rides on whether I want to continue winemaking or move on to other things. All of my professional winemaking experience has been in the Livermore Valley where I have an established reputation. I don't know whether I can recreate what I accomplished in Livermore, in Oregon, or anywhere else for that matter.
Those of you who live in the Bay Area and who are wine drinkers should take the time to explore the Livermore area. It actually is the seat of commercial winemaking California. Wente and Concannon and Cresta Blanca were the first large scale commercial wineries in California, starting back in the early 1880s.
Did you know, for example, that 80% of the Cabernet Sauvignon grown in California is planted to Concannon Clone 7. Clone 7 was developed by Concannon from cuttings brought over from Chateau Margaux in 1894. Concannon has a small block, preserved from the 1894 original vineyard that is called the Mother Vine Vineyard, so named because it was the source of clonal material for the 80% of the Cab planted in California and vineyard at UC Davis which was planted to preserve this clonal heritage. Concannon produces a limited amount of wine from the Mother Vineyard. When you view the vineyard you'll see that it is head trained rather than trellised in the usual manner. You'll also notice that there are vines that are very young and others that are very old. That is because the vineyard block has never been plowed under and replanted. When a vine dies it is removed and a new one planted. Some of the older vines are more than 80 years old.
I am very proud of what Longevity has accomplished and my role in it. It is however a very bittersweet moment for me. Debra Long, co-owner and wife to Phil Long the winemaker is terminally ill with end stage pancreatic cancer and will leave us before week is out.
My association with Longevity has also come to an end. In a couple of weeks our house will be on the market and my wife and I will begin looking for a retirement home somewhere in the Oregon's Willamette Valley, possibly Washington State, or Santa Fe. I guess part of the decision rides on whether I want to continue winemaking or move on to other things. All of my professional winemaking experience has been in the Livermore Valley where I have an established reputation. I don't know whether I can recreate what I accomplished in Livermore, in Oregon, or anywhere else for that matter.
Those of you who live in the Bay Area and who are wine drinkers should take the time to explore the Livermore area. It actually is the seat of commercial winemaking California. Wente and Concannon and Cresta Blanca were the first large scale commercial wineries in California, starting back in the early 1880s.
Did you know, for example, that 80% of the Cabernet Sauvignon grown in California is planted to Concannon Clone 7. Clone 7 was developed by Concannon from cuttings brought over from Chateau Margaux in 1894. Concannon has a small block, preserved from the 1894 original vineyard that is called the Mother Vine Vineyard, so named because it was the source of clonal material for the 80% of the Cab planted in California and vineyard at UC Davis which was planted to preserve this clonal heritage. Concannon produces a limited amount of wine from the Mother Vineyard. When you view the vineyard you'll see that it is head trained rather than trellised in the usual manner. You'll also notice that there are vines that are very young and others that are very old. That is because the vineyard block has never been plowed under and replanted. When a vine dies it is removed and a new one planted. Some of the older vines are more than 80 years old.
Chris Vais
1994 Coupe Midnight Blue Metallic
2015 Audi Allroad Quattro Brilliant Black
2008 Audi A5 Brilliant Black
