Long Shadows Vintners

Allen Shoup served as president and CEO of Stimson Lane Vineyards & Estates, the wine company that included Chateau Ste. Michelle, from 1983 to 2000. While CEO at Ste. Michelle he initiated joint ventures that brought Tuscany's Piero Antinori and Germany's Dr. Ernst Loosen to Washington; Wine Spectator dates the Antinori partnership, Col Solare, to 1995 and the Loosen Riesling, Eroica, to 1999. Shoup retired from Stimson Lane at the end of 2000 and established Long Shadows in 2002. He credited his close friend and mentor Robert Mondavi, who conceived the Opus One collaboration, as the guide for his vision. Wine Spectator reported the venture's announcement on Feb. 28, 2003, naming Randy Dunn, Agustin Huneeus, and Michel Rolland as its first partners, and reported that the 2003 wines for all the partnerships would be made at Bergevin Lane Vineyards in Walla Walla. Construction of Long Shadows' own Walla Walla winery started in 2005. Shoup died in 2022.

• Shoup was president and CEO of Stimson Lane Vineyards & Estates, which included Chateau Ste. Michelle, from 1983 to 2000
• Joint ventures under Shoup: Col Solare with Piero Antinori (1995) and Eroica Riesling with Dr. Ernst Loosen (1999), per Wine Spectator
• Long Shadows established 2002; construction of its Walla Walla winery started in 2005
• Leadership as of September 2026: Chuck Hill, President and CEO (joined 2023); Cory Brown, CFO since 2016

Long Shadows set out to craft wines inspired by winemakers of global prominence, each famous for mastery of a particular variety and style. Randy Dunn, who established Dunn Vineyards on Howell Mountain in 1979, inspired Feather Cabernet Sauvignon. John Duval, best known for his work with Penfolds' Grange, stepped down as Penfolds chief winemaker in 2003 after 28 years, when Shoup invited him to explore Columbia Valley Syrah; the resulting wine is Sequel. Pomerol's Michel Rolland, whose estates included Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, inspired Pedestal Merlot. Pirouette was created with Philippe Melka and Agustin Huneeus Sr. of Quintessa in Napa Valley. Armin Diel, owner of Schlossgut Diel in Germany's Nahe region, came to Washington in 2003 to make Riesling for Poet's Leap. The father-son team of Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari joined in 2006 to create Saggi.

• Feather (Cabernet Sauvignon): Randy Dunn, Dunn Vineyard, Napa Valley
• Sequel (Syrah): John Duval, Penfolds, Barossa Valley; Pedestal (Merlot): Michel Rolland, Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol
• Pirouette: Agustin Huneeus Sr. and Philippe Melka, Quintessa, Napa Valley
• Saggi: Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, Tenute Folonari, Tuscany; Poet's Leap (Riesling): Armin Diel, Schlossgut Diel, Nahe Valley

Gilles Nicault grew up in southern France, graduated from the University of Avignon with a degree in viticulture and enology, and made wine in Côte du Rhône, Provence, and Champagne before traveling to Washington State in 1994, where he worked for several wineries including Woodward Canyon. Wine Spectator reported in June 2003 that he had been an enologist at Woodward Canyon for the previous six years and was joining Long Shadows as resident winemaker. In the early years the partners traveled to Washington frequently, collaborating with Nicault on vineyard preferences, picking and fermentation protocol, barrel selections, and final blending. In the fall of 2016 Nicault assumed winemaking responsibility for Poet's Leap and for Saggi, after Diel and the Folonaris found the numerous trips overseas increasingly difficult. The winery hand-picks all grapes, sorts them on two vibrating sorting tables, and uses 100% French oak barrels; its fermentation vessels include 1,500 gallon upright wood fermenters for Pedestal, 400L French oak fermenters for Pirouette, and cement egg fermenters for Dance and Cymbal. Nine Hats Wines is a Long Shadows affiliate, and the winery says its Nine Hats winery lets it select only the lots that best serve its flagship wines.

• Gilles Nicault: University of Avignon graduate in viticulture and enology; came to Washington State in 1994
• Worked at Woodward Canyon before joining Long Shadows as resident winemaker in 2003, per Wine Spectator
• Assumed winemaking responsibility for Poet's Leap and Saggi in the fall of 2016
• All grapes hand-picked; two vibrating sorting tables, one for clusters and one for destemmed berries; 100% French oak barrels

Long Shadows sources its fruit through close partnerships with growers, using acreage instead of tonnage contracts so it can secure the same blocks and rows year after year. Its featured vineyards are The Benches at Wallula in the Horse Heaven Hills, the Sagemoor Group, Boushey in the Yakima Valley, StoneTree on the Wahluke Slope, and Tapteil on Red Mountain. The Benches at Wallula, planted in 1997, is a steep, south-facing slope alongside the Columbia River made up of 27 benches formed by the Missoula Floods. The Sagemoor Group includes Bacchus (planted 1972), Dionysus (1973), Sagemoor (1972), and Weinbau (1981). Dick Boushey planted his first wine grapes in 1980. StoneTree, planted in 2000, sits on the south slope of the Saddle Mountains near Mattawa, and Tapteil, established in 1985, is a 25-acre vineyard on Red Mountain.

• Acreage rather than tonnage contracts secure the same blocks and rows year after year
• The Benches at Wallula: Horse Heaven Hills, planted 1997, managed by Bill and Andy Denhoed
• Sagemoor Group (Bacchus, Dionysus, Sagemoor, Weinbau), managed by Kent Waliser
• Tapteil: 25-acre Red Mountain vineyard established 1985, managed by Larry Pearson

As of September 2026 the winery lists Chester-Kidder, Pedestal, Pirouette, Sequel, Saggi, Feather, Dance Chardonnay, Cymbal Sauvignon Blanc, Poet's Leap Riesling, Poet's Leap Dry Riesling, and Julia's Dazzle Rosé of Pinot Gris among its current releases. Shoup named Chester-Kidder for his mother, Elizabeth Chester, and his grandmother, Maggie Kidder; the 2021 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Syrah, and 11% Petit Verdot. The 2022 Feather is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Pirouette is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Pedestal is 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Sequel is 100% Syrah, and the 2022 Saggi is 67% Sangiovese, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Syrah. Poet's Leap is an off-dry Riesling. Dance, Cymbal, and Julia's Dazzle, the last named after Shoup's granddaughter, began as small quantities that Nicault and Shoup made for personal and family enjoyment.

• 2021 Chester-Kidder: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Syrah, 11% Petit Verdot
• 2022 Pirouette: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
• 2021 Pedestal: 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot
• 2022 Saggi: 67% Sangiovese, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://longshadows.com/, https://longshadows.com/our-story, https://longshadows.com/winemakers, https://longshadows.com/winemaking, https://longshadows.com/vineyards, https://longshadows.com/team, https://longshadows.com/wines, https://longshadows.com/visit-taste, https://longshadows.com/news/allen-c-shoup, https://longshadows.com/wines/2021-chester-kidder/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2022-feather/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2022-pirouette/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2021-pedestal/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2021-sequel/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2022-saggi/133, https://longshadows.com/wines/2025-poets-leap/133, https://longshadows.com/vineyards/the-benches-at-wallula, https://longshadows.com/vineyards/sagemoor-group, https://longshadows.com/vineyards/boushey-vineyard, https://longshadows.com/vineyards/stone-tree-vineyard, https://longshadows.com/vineyards/taptail-vineyard. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/allen-shoup-pioneer-of-washington-wines-dies, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/new-washington-venture-brings-together-winemakers-from-around-the-world-21558, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/winemakers-from-germany-and-napa-join-new-washington-venture-21665. Last verified 2026-09-23. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.