OCTOBER 2020 55Long Finish Phil Long, president ofthe Association of African AmericanVintners, hits the national stage.By Aaron HutchersonLONGEVITY WINES is a love story between winemaker Phil Long and his late
wife, Debra, who passed away in January 2019 from pancreatic cancer. The
label that graces Longevity’s bottles, designed by Phil, is dedicated to her
and features an intricate display of vines, grapes, and hearts to form a heart
itself, a nod to her affinity for the shape. “She collected heart rocks, heart
jewelry, heart paintings, heart everything,” he says. Long, the president of
the Association of African American Vintners, shared his thoughts on
pushing the Longevity label forward with a national expansion in the midst
of a pandemic and about the increased spotlight on Black winemakers.F&W: How did you first get
started in wine?
PL: Most of my life I lived
in Southern California.
And especially back then,
wine was just literally
something you had with
a meal at a restaurant or
would buy in a grocery
store to take home. You’re
not really in the environ-
ment of wine—you’re in
an environment of mostly
concrete. Debra and I
relocated to Northern
California through my job
at the time. We always
loved wine, but once we
got here, we realized we’re
in wine-central USA. No
matter which direction
you go here, you’re going
to end up in wine country
somehow. At one point
we said, let’s try making
some wine in the garage,
and that’s where it all
started.F&W: Your wines are
now available around the
country, thanks to your
partnership with Bronco
Wine Company. How is
that going?
PL: It was perfectly timed
to be the beginning of
March—obviously the
worst time in the world.
All of my sales meetings
and all of these things for
the launch just started
falling like dominoes. So
launching a national
brand during a pandemic?
I don’t recommend it! But
we’ve been making up
for lost ground by doing
virtual launches and have
been slowly easing into
stores around the country.WINES TO TRY2019 LONGEVITY LIVERMORE VALLEY
“PINK” PINOT GRIGIO ($26)
“We cold-soak the skins overnight to extract
more flavor and mouthfeel, and we get the
color with them,” Long says about this pink-
hued Pinot Grigio. “When I get home tonight,
it’s the first thing I’m going to open.”2018 LONGEVITY CALIFORNIA CABERNET
SAUVIGNON ($16)
This widely available red is rich with black
cherry notes and soft tannins. “One thing
unique about this and our Chardonnay is that
we use a Helix cork,” Long says. “You can just
twist it out by hand. It’s 100% recyclable, too.”2016 LONGEVITY LIVERMORE VALLEY
DEB-RU-VEE VINTNER SELECT ($36)
“I named this after my late wife; it’s short for
Debra Cuvée,” Long says. This food-friendly
GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend) is
juicy and lively, with enough substance that it
tastes great sipped on its own before dinner.F&W: What are your
thoughts on the recent
interest in supporting
Black-owned wineries
amid the Black Lives
Matter protests in May
and June? Are you opti-
mistic for the future?
PL: Yeah, there’s the ques-
tion, right? As part of the
Association of African
American Vintners, the
message has always been
to try to create aware-
ness that there actually
are African American
winemakers and winery
owners. It’s tragic that it
has taken this to happen
to finally get people to
break out of their comfort
zone and finally get on
board with enough being
enough. I applaud people
for joining the conversa-
tion, but I’m definitely
sad about what it has
taken to get us here. The
growing awareness of
African Americans in the
wine industry is great. I
really hope the landscape
continues to provide that
support and it’s not just a
flash in the pan.F&W: Why do you do what
you do?
PL: You don’t jump into
the wine business to
make a ton of money; you
do it because you love it.
Debra loved it. We loved
it. Unfortunately, she’s not
here now to see the fruits
of all of our efforts, but
we’re going to definitely
continue. We’re going to
do it to honor her, and
she’s always going to be
the face of the winery.PHOTOGRAPHY: RON ESSEX