AmericanWinery.com

Lindi Kauer:  Summertime is normally the busiest for wineries – packed tasting rooms, new wines to bottle, and another harvest around the corner. What has been keeping you busy this summer?
Phil Long:  I recently participated as a judge for the Alameda County Fair Amateur wine competition. It’s a great experience.  I was able to share the table with two of Livermore’s greats, Thomas Coyne (of Thomas Coyne Winery) and Jim Ryan from Concannon Vineyard.  We tasted and rated wines for about three hours straight.   Our table got to taste Cabs and blends, among many others.  You would be surprised of just how many really good wines there were.  Other than the competition and our annual trip to Paso, it’s been bottling and prepping for harvest as usual.

LK:  What is your take on this type of competition?
PL:  For the home winemaker I think it’s a great way to get feedback from commercial winemakers, in addition to receiving recognition for their efforts.  Commercially I think this type of competition may be great for the local market, but as a winery we need to also keep our eyes on the extended market.  At some point I would like to be sold out of vintages before they are even released.  It’s hard to do that if you stay in your own backyard.

LK: Define long term goals for Longevity
PL:  Our goal is to increase a fixed case amount each year and max out at around 2500 cases.  It’s not too much to handle with a small crew, and it’s still more fun than work.  I think long term our focus will increase on Cabernet’s and Cab blends, as well as barrel fermented Sur Lie Chardonnay’s.

LK:  What about upcoming events? Do you have any New Wine Releases to talk about?
PL:  Harvest Festival is right around the corner.  It’s Livermore Valley’s largest event of the year.  Half of the wineries will be pouring wine from one central location.  There will be food vendors, art and jewelry, and several bands over the course of Labor Day weekend, on Sunday and Monday (buy tickets here).  Longevity will be pouring at the park (Robertson Park) while buses will take people to wineries not pouring at the park, on Sunday.    As far as releases are concerned, we have released our 2006 Lodi Barbera, next will be our 2006 Contra Costa County Syrah, and in the Fall our 2008 Livermore Chardonnay.

LK:  How many Harvests have you had as a winemaker? What makes this an important part of what you do?
PL:  I have been making wine now for close to ten years.  If you look at the career of being a winemaker, I may have only 20-25 more vintages left.  This means that each harvest,  you better be ramping up what you do as far as quality, and keeping your wines exciting, etc.  Each harvest is so different that you have to strive to do your best each time to make the most of it.  This year we are adding cold soaking, longer macerations, and even fermenting some reds in oak. It’s all about improving/changing the way you do things…. so you will continue to make a better product.

LK:  What is your view of the future for Longevity?
PL:  Previously we took a bit of a shot gun approach to what varietals we are going to produce.  We made what we liked and our customers liked what we made, so it was and still is a win win situation.  As a winemaker I am now trying to focus more on a fewer varietals, and take those as far as we can.  We are going to do less varietals and more volume of each of varietal we do produce.  Most of our wines seem to sell out fairly quickly.  Philosophically, I am at a point in my wine making career that for a winery of our size, I don’t believe in reserve wines – it insinuates that we aren’t making the best wine we can across the board.  My goal is that every wine should be a reserve wine!

LK: How did you get started in the wine business?
PL: We ran an online based wine club for several years known as “Longevity Wine Club”.  We would feature a different appellation each month, and ship wines from that appellation to our customers.  We were on the road at least three weekends a month tasting hundreds of wines to choose four for the club.  At the same time we started making wine at home.  We kept the “old” wine club running for the first six months we had the winery open.  As of January 2009, we morphed Longevity Wine Club into Longevity “Wines” Club.  So now it’s our winery’s wine club.

LK:  Let’s take a step back for a moment, you and your wife are both working full time jobs still – what do each of you do?
PL:  I work as the Creative Director for a large Point of Purchase display design & manufacturing firm – Rapid Displays.  Debra is the Office Manager for Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.  (Danville, Blackhawk, Alamo, Diablo)

LK: How these jobs have helped you in the wine industry?
PL: We are Chamber members of the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, and involved in our surrounding communities. Networking and relationships are important and help in any business venture. We both have experience in customer service and this carries over into Longevity.   I have been a creative person/designer all my life.  This business is the culmination of all that I have done before now.  We designed our brand, tasting room, and winery in addition to building everything ourselves.  I still believe that winemaking is just as much art as it is science.  I think that is where we really shine.  That and creating an experience for every customer.  Whether they come to the tasting room or are a distant club member, so much of the what people remember is the experience they have had at the winery.

LK:  I also heard that you had a birthday recently. Tell us a little bit about turning 50 – what did you do to celebrate?
PL:  My birthday this year fell on a Sunday, so Saturday, we had a party at the winery all day.  We opened wine from the Longevity library that were no longer available, and had great fun.  A couple of times a year, I smoke pork for pulled pork sliders and invite all of our customers.  Friends, food and wine all day, what could be better?

***Watch Longevity Wines’ “Straight from the Source” Video Short***

Having grown up in the wine industry, Angela Locati knows wine from many different angles. And, as a friend of the AW family, it was easy to talk her into sitting down with us. Skylite Cellars is one of our newest winery partners, and we are particularly excited to have another winery from our home town on board.  Check out her answers to our questions!

Lindi Kauer: Do you have any winery traditions, crush traditions or events that you are particularly fond of?
Angela Locati: ‘Friends and family’ is an ongoing tradition at Skylite Cellars. From crush to bottling, we recruit family and friends to help.

As far as events; ArtWalk is a big tradition. The first Friday of each month we feature a new local artist in our downtown art gallery and tasting room. We feature fun wine specials and food pairings and the event continues later into the evening. It is a lot of fun showcasing art, food, and wine altogether in one setting not to mention that we have several associates working the event and that always leads to a good time.

LK: What are some practices in the vineyard and in the winery which set you apart or which you are particularly proud of?
AL: In the winery all of our white wines are crafted in stainless steel tanks with no oak regimen. This brings a new world style to our assortment of fine white varietals and blends. The fact that we have so many white wines to offer also sets us apart from many. We are fortunate to have our own Skylite Vineyard producing fabulous high-quality Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in small lots. Using as much Estate and Walla Walla fruit is important to us.

LK: What would you be drinking right now if you weren’t drinking your OWN wines?
AL: Personally, I would be drinking IPA. I believe Cheryl would be drinking Stella.

LK: To you – is wine more art or science? What about that do you love?
AL: It must be more art these days. The science of making wine is basic. The art is the creativity behind the scientist. I love the passion that artists have but it is only fair that we now regard winemakers or scientists as artists too.

LK: Other wineries or winemakers you admire?
AL: I have to admire Holly Turner from Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla. Not only because she is a woman, but because she is talented, got her start at a young age and has worked in many wine producing regions, and still is very down to earth and approachable. Next would be my family’s winery, Locati Cellars, which produces strictly Italian varietals that pair with the foods I have grown up eating every Sunday at family dinner.

LK: If you weren’t a winemaker (in the wine industry), what would you be?
AL: Rich. No, I would probably be in forensics.

LK: What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
AL: Skylite Cellars 2005 Syrah and a rich chocolaty dessert made by Bear at The Marc.

For more information, please visit Skylite Cellars’ website or their profile on AmericanWinery.com.

Exciting news for all of us that work at AmericanWinery.com! Claire Miller of the New York Times interviewed our CEO and founder, Lloyd Benedict, for the Bits Blog.

Please read the article here…

New York Times Bits Blog: AmericanWinery.com

I recently attended WITS and had a lot of fun. I met a lot of really cool people (big ups to Jeff/Jason of ShipCompliant, Bart from O’Brien Estate, WITS organizers Smoke and Lesley, and many others…), got to connect with several of our winery partners there such as Jonathan from Francis Ford Coppola Presents, Patrick from Iridesse Wines, Laura from Zahtila Vineyards, and Kaz from Kaz Vineyards and Winery (more on him later), Bob from Chateau Leidigh and had a lot of fun and learning in the process. What more could you ask for?

This symposium has been running for four years now, and continues to grow each year with great speakers, sponsors and other beneficial offerings to wineries and vineyards. Definitely mark your calendar for it next year!

I could go on and on about the symposium and my experience there, the AmericanWinery.com found/CEO, Lloyd Benedict, has talked about it in a previous post, so I wanted to focus on a great, humorous, and table-turning encounter I had: being interviewed for Wine Biz Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Laumann is the owner and winemaker for Cambiata and Ludwig wines. He has an infinite amount of zeal for this industry and the wine making process in general.

Lindi Kauer: Do you have any winery traditions, crush traditions or events that you are particularly fond of?

Eric Laumann: (Not sure how to answer this question) First and foremost I focus on the processes. Bottom line is I get up in the morning and I make wine. Harvest isn’t necessarily my favorite time, I look at all of wine making as a linear process and I simply try to make wines that fit my wine philosophy. 

LK: What are some practices in the vineyard and in the winery which set you apart or which you are particularly proud of?

EL: You shouldn’t be proud, it’s one of the seven deadly sins and it’s self indulgent. The star is the vineyard, the star is the grapes. I chose “Gradus Ad Parnassum,” (translated as “Steps to Parnassus,” the mountain of the muses) as the motto for Cambiata because I believe that wine making is like climbing a mountain in a metaphorical sense; no matter how many vintages you produce there is still something to be learned. If you don’t climb the mountain you don’t get blessed, and if you do not apply proper rigor, you will die of thirst.

LK: Where would you say you are at in this journey?

EL: I’ll climb as long as I can.

LK: Don’t you think that with some of your vintages you’ve done a really good job? Can’t you be proud of those?

EL: Well, see. . . I’d call it satisfaction, not pride.

LK: What about other wineries or wine makers you admire?

EL: Randall Graham of Bonny Doon is someone I admire because he is constantly reinventing himself. He goes beyond and creates a culture around his wine, delivering the appearance of “magic” in the bottle.

LK: To you – is wine more art or science? What about that do you love?

EL: I get upset when wine makers claim to be artists. The star is the vineyard. When you take wine and put your personality on top of it, to add meaning or add essences, in doing so you mask the terroir. You are supposed to be the Talent Agent, the educator for the wine. For instance, Randall does a great job of presenting the wines in a way that makes people see them a little differently and he adds this extra dimension without compromising the wine’s terroir.

LK: What is your favorite food and wine pairing?

EL: Well, we are located in Monterey County where there is a lot of great, fresh fish and you can just go down to the docks and pick it up hours old. There is also great produce here, like local peppers and fresh cilantro, that I really enjoy cooking with. All of which goes nicely with either the Cambiata Albarino or the Ludwig Riesling.