Long Shadows Winemakers

Since our founding in 2002, Gilles Nicault has served as the director of winemaking and viticulture, working collaboratively with each winemaker partner to bring their shared vision for each wine to life. Today, Gilles makes every Long Shadows wine to showcase the quality and distinct style of the iconic vintners who inspired them.

“I grew up with parents in the wine business, so my passion for winemaking started very early on, and Long Shadows Vintners is the epitome of a winemaking career. It has allowed me to work closely with some of the most prestigious winemakers from around the world to establish a collection of distinctive wines from the Columbia Valley. A real dream job!” – Gilles Nicault

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, Provençe 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. Seattle magazine named him Washington State’s Winemaker of the Year in 2016.

Associated Wines

• Chester-Kidder
• Poet's Leap
• Saggi
• Julia's Dazzle
• Cymbal
• Dance
• Côté Nicault
• Shoup

Few winemakers are as synonymous with the iconic wines of a country as John Duval, best known for his work with Penfolds’ Grange, the gold standard for Australian Shiraz. In 2003, after 28 years with Penfolds, John stepped down from his post as chief winemaker to establish John Duval Wines in the Barossa Valley. At the same time, Long Shadows founder Allen Shoup invited him to Washington State to explore Columbia Valley Syrah. A partnership was born, and the name Sequel was given to the wine in recognition of John’s life work with Syrah.

"My goal with Long Shadows has been to highlight, in an elegant but structured fashion, the different sub-regional expressions of Syrah, and then combine these components to express a more complex wine." - John Duval

Associated Wines

• Sequel

On a whim, French-born Phillipe Melka took a wine course while studying at the University of Bordeaux that proved to be life changing. It led to his decision to pursue a master's degree in agronomy and enology, ultimately taking him to some of the most famous wineries in the world: Château Cheval Blanc, Pétrus and Château Haut-Brion, among others, where his passion for cabernet-based blends developed. In 1994, Philippe settled in Napa Valley where his reputation has grown exponentially making wines for such celebrated wineries as Hundred Acre, Quintessa, Bryant Family, Seavey, Dana Estates and Vineyard 29.

"How can you refuse to be part of a dream project? Partnering with Agustin Hunneus, Sr. from Quintessa and Allen Shoup and working with all great winemakers…..it was a very attractive project in a promising wine region." - Philippe Melka

Associated Wines

• Pirouette

Armin Diel, owner of the Schlossgut Diel in Germany's Nahe region, came to Washington in 2003 to make Riesling. From the first vintage, Long Shadows' director of winemaking Gilles Nicault collaborated with Armin on Poet's Leap's vineyard selection, fermentation and blending to establish a consistent style for the wine. In the fall of 2016, Gilles assumed winemaking responsibility for Poet's Leap after Armin found it increasingly challenging to make the numerous trips overseas that the project required. Gilles remains true to crafting the same style wine the team originally aspired to produce.

"My emphasis was to preserve Poet’s Leap Riesling with as much freshness as possible with a small amount of residual sugar." - Armin Diel

Associated Wines

• Poet's Leap