Allen Shoup, a founding father of the Washington State wine industry and a longtime friend of this journal and the American Association of Wine Economists, died in November at his home in Seattle. He spent 20 years building Chateau Ste. Michelle into a broadly distributed emissary for Washington's wines before starting his own venture, Long Shadows Vintners, 20 years ago. Allen hosted an AAWE dinner at Long Shadows during its meeting in Walla Walla a decade ago. Surrounded by Chihuly's famed glass artworks at the winery it was a memorable experience.
Allen C. Shoup (1943–2022)
Allen was a remarkable man. As the Chief Executive of a massive wine brand he could have been a major antagonist to the startups around him. Instead he encouraged them, arguing that their success would only increase that of his own, larger company. He was right and as a result an entire new industry was born.
Orley Ashenfelter
President AAWE
Princeton University
December 2022
