[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E252-E253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ZELMA LONG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2014

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
and honor my good friend, Zelma Long, as she celebrates her 70th 
birthday.
  It is not uncommon to be knowledgeable about growing, producing and 
consuming wine in Napa and Sonoma Counties, but Ms. Long's fame and 
accomplishments elevate her far above the average. She and her then-
husband Bob Long established Long Vineyards in my home town of St. 
Helena, which the two of them continue to operate today. Here she found 
her calling in viticulture and in producing some of the finest wines to 
come out of Napa and Sonoma.
  She first worked with the legendary Robert Mondavi as Chief Enologist 
at his winery in Napa County, before becoming Vice President of 
Business Development at Chandon Estates winery in Napa Valley. Ms. Long 
moved over to Sonoma County as Vice President and later President and 
CEO of Simi Winery in Healdsburg. At the time, she was the first woman 
to assume senior management of a California winery.
  Ms. Long was the first President of the Americana Vineyard Foundation 
and one of its founding members. This organization helped finance 
research in enology and viticulture. She was also a founding member of 
the American Viticulture and Enology Research Network. In 2000 she 
established her own international wine consulting business, with 
clients in California, Washington, Italy, France and Argentina. She and 
her husband, Dr. Phil Freese, are California joint venture partners in 
Vilafonte Vineyards in South Africa, the only South African winery to 
have been nominated twice for designation as ``New World Winery of the 
Year.''
  She has been inducted into the James Beard Hall of Fame, named a 
California Wine Pioneer by Wine Spectator Foundation, selected to 
receive one of Italy's most prestigious wine awards, the MASI, and 
honored

[[Page E253]]

as Alumni of the Year by both Oregon State University, where she did 
her undergraduate work, and the University of California Davis, where 
she did her graduate work.
  While continuing to make global wines she finds the time to further 
her education at UC Davis in a Ph.D. program in Performance Studies and 
Native American Studies, which she began in the fall of 2009.
  Mr. Speaker, Zelma Long is a giant in the wine industry, a woman with 
a long list of accomplishments and a good friend. It is appropriate 
that we recognize and honor her today and wish her a very Happy 70th 
Birthday.

                          ____________________