Longfellow, Biography

Longfellow was founded in 2000 by two childhood friends, Mark Smith and Craig Whitney, with the goal of producing high quality single vineyard wines of unique character and distinction. The 2001 wines are Longfellow's inaugural vintage and are the result of two years of hard work and planning. One would think that we named our new winery Longfellow because of some deep seeded love for the eponymous poet (just think of the marketing potential), but in reality, Longfellow is the name of the neighborhood we grew up in Maryland.

We both went our separate ways after graduating from the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!) but wound up in Northern California after graduate school. A spring break trip to the Napa Valley while in college sparked our initial interest in wine and the Napa Valley (I think we hit about twelve wineries in a single afternoon), but our subsequent proximity to the Napa Valley and an ever increasing knowledge of California wines stoked our entrepenural spirit to do something more in the wine business.

To us, Longfellow represents our long friendship through the years and with the release of the 2001 vintage, our passion to produce the highest quality wines. Wine has become an important part of our lives and a common thread that has brought our close families and friends together. We hope that Longfellow wines will become a part of your lives especially when you celebrate good times with your close friends and family.