Zelma Long

Recently awarded Lifetime Achievement for Innovation in Winemaking at the Innovation and Quality Conference in Napa Valley,  Zelma Long has shepherded ideas, people, grapes and processes through winemaking and winegrowing,  in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, the Cape of South Africa, Germany, France (Chene Bleu), Argentina, Italy, Oregon and Washington. Currently she is the Winemaking Partner for Vilafonte, with partners Dr. Phillip Freese, Winegrowing Partner and Michael Ratcliffe, Marketing Partner and Business Manager. Vilafonte is a 22 year old project envisioned by Zelma and Phillip; land purchased near Stellenbosch in 1997, developed to Bordeaux varieties, with grapes grown for the intensity and finesse they envisioned to express the extraordinary terroir of the Cape of South Africa. They live in Alexander Valley, near Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California.