Wines & Vines

50 WINES&VINES Collector's Edition COLLECTOR'S EDITION Wheel which is credited with enhancing the industry's and the public's understanding of wine tasting and terminology. When hired by UC Davis in 1974, Noble was the first woman faculty mem- ber of the viticulture and enology department. She retired from Davis in 2002 and in 2003 was named emeritus professor of enology. Since re- tirement she has participated as a judge in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. North Coast Viticulture Research Group Wineries funded research to link growing practices to wine character A group of Napa and Sonoma wineries, dedi- cated to discovering the linkage between viticul- ture and wine style and quality, formed the North Coast Viticulture Research Group. The process was to fund research at the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, that linked growing practices to wine character, changing the vision from grape growing to wine growing. Funds were contrib- uted by member wineries annually to fund re- search. As a consequence of this approach, UC Davis advanced the understanding of growing and winemaking disciplines to the benefit of both students and wineries. Member wineries included Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Robert Mon- davi Winery, Simi Winery, Beringer Vineyards, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, The Christian Broth- ers Winery and Sterling Vineyards. Zelma R. Long Winemaker, mentor to women and advocate for research Zelma R. Long is an American winery owner, executive and enologist who helped set prec- edents for women winemakers in a male- dominated industry. Long was chief enologist at the Robert Mondavi Winery from 1973 to 1979. She was the first woman to be the chief executive of a California winery in the modern era, as president of Simi Winery in Healds- burg, Calif., from 1989 to 1996. Long's hiring and mentoring of other women in winemak- ing jobs made a significant contribution to gender diversity. Long was the first president of the American Vineyard Foundation, which helped to finance enology and viticulture re- search, and also founded the American Viti- culture and Enology Research Network (AVERN). She is the co-owner of Long Vine- yards in St. Helena, Calif., and the co-owner of Vilafonte Wine Estate in South Africa. Dr. Vincent Petrucci Founded Fresno's viticulture and enology department Vincent Petrucci (1925-2016) was known as the father of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at California State University, Fresno and taught three generations of vineyard man- agers and winemakers. Serving as a professor from 1948 until 1993 and continuing as an emeritus professor afterward, he helped trans- Robert Mondavi and Family Putting California wines on the world stage When Robert Mondavi (1913-2008) built his eponymous winery in 1966, it signified a boom in Napa Valley and California winemak- ing that hadn't been seen since the 1880s. Mondavi and his children, Michael, Marcia and Timothy, went on to place California wines on the world stage with Robert's inspired lifestyle-marketing approach, and introduced many innovations in the vineyard, the lab and the cellar that were generously shared with others in the wine industry. One example among dozens is the work of Phillip Freese, who as Robert Mondavi's viticulturist established the concept of winegrow- ing as opposed to grapegrowing and first applied it there. In 2004, the publicly held Robert Mondavi Corp. agreed to be acquired by beverage giant Constellation Brands for $1.03 billion. AVIS MANDEL —continued from page 48

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