Member Spotlight: Bill and Mary Ann Sadler

It’s no secret that our wine club members are what make our Long Shadow’s Key Club so special. Meet two of our long-time club members, Bill and Mary Ann Sadler.

As kindred wine spirits, The Sadlers own and manage a small but successful vineyard in Missouri where they grow the red, hybrid grape Chambourcin and recently celebrated receiving a 93-point rating from James Suckling for their Augusta label! Bill Sadler also owns a small consulting company that works on product development with a focus on natural/green product lines.

The Sadlers were first introduced to Long Shadows through a friend, which quickly led to a trip to Walla Walla. During this scouting trip the Sadlers visited the stunning vineyards known as The Benches that run alongside the Columbia River. Bill shares, “It was an incredible experience and our group met for a tasting at the Long Shadows winery. During the visit to Long Shadows one of the most memorable moments was tasting a 2010 Pedestal barrel sample with head winemaker, Gilles Nicault.” That was the moment that set everything into motion and the Sadlers have been making Long Shadows memories ever since. Now they are the ones introducing friends and family to the Long Shadows portfolio and have become self-appointed ambassadors for Washington wines. It helps that they have an extensive Long Shadows library in their own cellar with some vintages dating back to 2007. Their collective cellar strategy is essentially, keep some, drink some and share some, with many single bottle vintage selections dotting their cellar that some day may debut as a fantastic vertical tasting.

One of the aspects of Key Club membership that has been a draw for the Sadlers over the years is getting early access to our best wines and building a dynamic relationship with the fantastic Long Shadows wine club team.

When pressed about their favorite Long Shadow wines, the relationship that began so many years ago in the cellar with the barrel tasting of Pedestal, came full circle, as an enduring favorite. Bill also admitted that he doesn’t have many other Sangiovese or Syrah wine representatives in his cellar outside of the Long Shadows Saggi and Sequel.

In terms of wine sipping strategy, the Sadlers tend to drink more white wines in the summer, but are fans of reds year-round, especially when intentionally paired well with food. Managing their wine club membership has presented some “challenges” – how many, where, which wines? According to Bill, Long Shadows has made the Washington wine solution easy with good variety, excellent quality, and the unique model of combining top tier winemakers with exceptional Washington State fruit.

We are thrilled to spotlight long-time members Bill and Mary Ann Sadler. Thank you for your enthusiastic support of Long Shadows wine over the years.