by Andrew Chalk
Allen Shoup left the position of President and CEO position at Washington State’s largest wine maker, Chateau Ste. Michelle, in 2000 but he had no intention of retiring. After three years ‘gardening leave’ (presumably to serve out a non-compete) he founded a new and very unusual winery. Long Shadows Vintners has not one winemaker, but one winemaker for each wine. Furthermore, that wine maker is not an employee but an acknowledged worldwide leader in that genre. For example, the Long Shadows Cabernet Sauvignon is made by Napa legend Randy Dunn. The Merlot, by French legend and Pomerol native, Michel Rolland. There are actually seven superstar winemakers making seven Long Shadows wines.
At a tasting this week at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, at which I was an invited guest, I questioned Shoup about the stars involvement with the wines. It is important, in a week in which Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have apparently produced a Provence Rosé wine, to clarify how involved the stars were in the production of the product. Pitt and Jolie’s involvement seems as plausible as Kim Kardashian getting a Ph.D. from Cal. Tech. Did Brad Pitt choose the date when picking started? When asked what type of barrels to age the wine in, did Angelina Jolie respond ‘pink’? This is obviously nothing more than vapid marketing. Continue reading
