The Team

"Long Shadows is a family business through and through – and not just because of what Allen & Kathleen have instilled within the company – but also because of the camaraderie that comes from working hard for something you believe in. I’ve never encountered such a close group of people that spend time together in and outside of work and genuinely care about each person here."

— Nina Depiesse, DTC Manager

Founder

Allen Shoup

Allen Shoup was widely recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Washington wine industry. He spent 20 years building Château Ste. Michelle and its affiliate wineries, serving as the company’s CEO for 17 of those years before establishing Long Shadows in 2002.

Long Shadows is a continuation of Allen’s on-going commitment to building the reputation of Washington wines. He credited his close friend and mentor Robert Mondavi, who famously conceived the Opus One collaboration, as the guide for his vision. While CEO at Ste. Michelle, Allen initiated joint ventures that brought Tuscany’s Piero Antinori and Germany’s Dr. Ernst Loosen to Washington. He left Ste. Michelle in 2000 to realize his vision of introducing some of the world’s most gifted winemakers to the Columbia Valley. Long Shadows Vintners is the result.

Read more of Allen's legacy.

CEO & Board Chair

Chuck Hill

Chuck Hill joined Long Shadows in 2023. He brings over three decades of executive management, strategic planning, finance, and business development expertise to the team, including a background in the California and Washington State wine industries.

In 2004, Chuck negotiated the acquisition of the historic Hop Kiln winery and successfully managed the subsequent repositioning of the Russian River estate, elevating the winery’s value proposition through vineyard plantings, production facility improvements, distribution expansion, and the launch of an upscale product tier. In 2017, Chuck led the acquisition of Walla Walla’s iconic Abeja winery, where he continues to provide business consulting services.

In addition to working in the wine industry, Chuck has served as CEO of Pistol Creek Company, a large, privately held investment company, controller for Lowe Enterprises Northwest, and as a CPA for KPMG. He is a graduate of Purdue University.

President

Dane Narbaitz

Wine industry veteran Dane Narbaitz is a seasoned sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience developing luxury wine brands. As president of Long Shadows, Dane is responsible for developing and managing the winery’s distributor network of fine wine wholesalers in 41 states, overseeing market expansion in the U.S. and internationally, and all aspects of channel management. He also directs Long Shadows’ new product development, packaging design and marketing. Dane joined Long Shadows in 2005 and was appointed president in 2008.

Prior to Long Shadows, Dane served as Northwest Region Manager for Robert Mondavi’s Signature Estates portfolio overseeing such luxury brands as Opus One, Ornellaia and Robert Mondavi Reserve. He has held sales positions at Kendall-Jackson, Western Washington Beverage, and HKA Design in California, one of the wine industry’s leading package design firms.

Director of Winemaking & Viticulture

Gilles Nicault

Gilles Nicault has served as director of winemaking and viticulture since Long Shadows’ inception. He oversees winery operations and collaborates with Long Shadows’ celebrated vintners from around the globe to ensure that each winemaker’s vision is realized in the vineyard and the cellar, a position he describes as his “dream job.”

Gilles grew up in southern France and graduated from the University of Avignon with a four-year degree in viticulture and enology. He honed his craft in the fabled hillside wineries of Côte du Rhône, Provence and Champagne. In 1994, already a vintner of rising fame in his homeland, Gilles traveled to Washington State to expand his winemaking skills. Here he worked for several top Washington wineries, including Woodward Canyon, before joining Long Shadows in 2003. Seattle magazine named him Washington State’s Winemaker of the Year in 2016.

Chief Financial Officer

Cory Brown

Cory Brown has served as Long Shadows' CFO since 2016. He brings over 20 years of wine industry finance and operations experience to the winery where he is responsible for Long Shadows’ finance, accounting, human resources, IT, compliance and legal affairs.

Prior to joining Long Shadows, Cory spent 12 years managing finance, operations and eventually the sale of Click Wine Group, a Seattle-based wine import company. Following his tenure at Click, he provided finance and operations consulting services to small and medium sized businesses across many industries. He built his consulting work drawing not only on his experience with Click but also his entrepreneurial know-how honed as the founder and CEO of a natural products manufacturing, wholesale and retail business that he launched and managed at the start of his career.

Director of Retail Sales & Partner

Ryan Shoup

Ryan Shoup is Long Shadows' director of retail sales. After graduating from Seattle University, he joined Long Shadows in 2011 serving as tasting room manager for Long Shadows’ Woodinville operation, then expanding his role in 2017 to include oversight of Nine Hats tasting room in SODO and the adjoining Nine Pies Pizzeria. It was Ryan who envisioned broadening Nine Hats’ portfolio beyond a single declassified Long Shadows wine. Originally conceived as a red blend only, Ryan urged his father Allen Shoup to grow Nine Hats to include a wider selection of top quality, affordable varietal wines.

In addition to directing retail sales, Ryan collaborates with his brother Dane on Long Shadows’ new product development, packaging design and marketing. Ryan and his wife Aubrey live in Seattle.

Facilities and Crush Pad Supervisor

Lalo Gutierrez

Assistant Winemaker

Matt Bangs

Cellar Crew

Jorge Vasquez

Cellar Crew

Nick Jackson

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