Date: Thursday, June 25
Time: 9:00 am – 9:45 am
Location: Grand Ballroom, Marriott Napa Valley Hotel

Lessons from Global Winemaking

Ms. Zelma Long
Owner & Winemaking Partner, Vilafonte (Wine Estate), South Africa
Owner, Winemaker, Long Vineyards, Napa Valley, California

The ASEV Merit Award is presented annually to an individual who has significantly contributed in an outstanding distinguished manner to the progress and advancement of enology and viticulture or to the Society itself. This award acknowledges excellence in the fields of education, technology, research, management, public relations or any discipline related to enology and viticulture.

Zelma Long, a world renowned winemaking master will be honored with the ASEV’s Merit Award. Her copious accomplishments are impressive and revered throughout the industry. She was the first woman in the industry to run both the winemaking and business side of a major winery and led Simi Winery to prominence serving as its winemaker/vice president, president and finally CEO in the 1980s and 1990s.  Today, she is the owner and winemaking partner with her husband, Philip Freese, of Vilafonte (Wine Estate) in South Africa as well as owner and winemaker of Long Vineyards in California’s Napa Valley. Long has received national and international awards throughout her career for her leadership positions in wine industry organizations, which have included: founding president of the American Vineyard Foundation, chair of the American Viticultural and Enology Research Network (AVERN), founding president of the Alexander Valley Winegrowers, founding member of the North Coast Viticultural Research Group, ASEV Board director and member of the local Board of the International Women’s Forum.

Click here for an extensive resume of Zelma’s extraordinary accomplishments.