The Wallula Vineyard is located near the Wallula Gap on the Columbia River.
Columbia Valley (AVA)
Long Shadows Vintners
Casts a Long Shadow
Personal wine ventures can be risky. This one's not - it's simply brilliant.
by
Eleanor & Ray Heald
November 7, 2007
After 16 years as CEO of Stimson Lane wine group (including Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Snoqualmie and Northstar among others), Allen Shoup retired in 2000 to pursue a personal dream - the creation of what is now known as
Long Shadows Vintners, based in Seattle, Wash.
For years, while Shoup, a Michigan native, influenced the transformation of the
Columbia Valley AVA from 4,000 acres under vine to 33,000 acres of
vinifera varieties, he pondered a joint venture with renowned winemakers from different regions of the wine world. His goal was to bring their expertise to Washington State to create exciting wines, crafted from the Columbia Valley AVA's top vineyards, wines that would rank with the planet's best.
We asked Shoup, now age 64, to discuss various aspects of Long Shadows Vintners, a wine project that he launched in 2002 and one that many consider a brilliant wine venture.
Eleanor & Ray Heald (ERH): Who and what gave you hope that your Long Shadows idea could both attract some of the world's greatest winemakers and have wine consumer appeal?
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