Early in his career Dave Phinney redefined the look and feel of winemaking and marketing in Napa Valley when he created a red blend called The Prisoner. Simultaneously he founded and remains involved with Orin Swift, working in partnership with Gallo. After the sale of his original brands, Dave went on to forge his own path establishing the spirits…

Growing up in one of Napa Valley’s most celebrated winemaking families, Chelsea brings a wealth of personal knowledge to her professional success. After graduating from UC Davis she gained real-world experience working in wine regions around the world and in wineries of all sizes from large to small. Today she is winemaker at Napa Valley’s Materra …

Born in Switzerland, Jean Hoefliger worked in vineyards and wineries throughout the world before landing in Napa Valley in 2001 and his first job here at Newton Vineyard. Since then he’s made wine with numerous brands including Alpha Omega Winery and AXR Napa Valley as well as with his long-time friend Michele Roland.…

Her journey in wine took Emma Swain from Francis Ford Coppola’s Neibaum-Coppola Estate to wineries owned by Sonoma’s Sebastiani family before taking the reins at Chanel-owned St. Supèry. Visit St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & WineryAv Doug Shafer

Third-generation vintner Violet Grgich tells an incredible family wine story that spans a century that includes a world war, daring escapes, and a years-long journey to Napa Valley. Her grandfather was a winemaker in their small town in Croatia, her father came to Napa and help put the region on the world stage and started a winery, Grgich-Hills Es…

Hugh Davies lives in the same house he grew up in at Schramsberg Winery here in Napa Valley and, in a case of history repeating itself, it’s where he and his wife are raising their own family and making world-class wines. Hugh does a great job of weaving together 150 years of stories about family and winemaking on Diamond Mountain. Enjoy! For more …

In 1975 John Williams arrived in Napa Valley with a return bus ticket and $40 in his pocket. He fell in love with wine and never used that return ticket – instead launching Frog’s Leap Winery. Today John and his son Rory (who also owns Calder Wine Co.) are running Frog’s Leap together and on the podcast, they discuss the joys and challenges of fami…

John Kongsgaard grew up in Napa Valley, where his father was a beloved local judge. John says their father-son relationship was tested during the stresses of the Vietnam War and the road to healing that rift culminated in the creation of Kongsgaard’s most celebrated wine, The Judge. Today John works with his son, Alex, to keep growing beautiful fru…

Delia Viader came to the wine business in Napa Valley in the 1980s after living in Argentina, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France and earning degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris and MIT in Boston. Her son Alan grew up on the winery property, learning vineyard and cellar work at a young age. Today this duo runs Viader Vineyards & Winery, one of Napa Val…

Adam Lee comes from a family of devout Texas teetotalers. In college, however, Adam not only tasted his first wine, he became passionate about it. He and then-wife Diane Novy moved to California and founded Siduri, making outstanding Pinot Noirs from vineyards site that ranged from Santa Barbara to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. After selling Sid…

Early on Donald Patz thought he’d pursue a medical career. After college, however, he landed a wine sales job and one thing led to another. By the 1980s Patz met James Hall in Napa and they created Patz & Hall, a winery celebrated for outstanding Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 2016, they sold the winery and Patz moved on to several exciting new wine…

As a kid Elizabeth Vianna lived in Brazil, Los Angeles, and Illinois, then moved back to Brazil. She entered college intent on becoming a concert pianist, then got serious about medicine but along the way found her true love in wine. Today Vianna is one of our favorite neighbors here in Napa Valley’s Stag Leap District as winemaker and general mana…

While Michael Silacci grew up near the vineyards of Gilroy, California, it took years of travel through Hawaii, Japan, Switzerland, and eventually France to discover his passion for wine. Today he can look back on nearly 20 years of stellar winemaking at Opus One, combining innovative thinking with age-old techniques to produce wines that are among…

Jay McInerney burst onto the literary scene in 1984 with Bright Lights, Big City, his novel based on an era both in his life and the life of New York City. A dozen years later McInerney surprised a lot of people by turning to writing about wine. He won over many early doubters, displaying a novelist’s eye and a wine lover’s enthusiasm for profiling…

In this episode the guest is you! We invited listeners to send in questions about wine collecting, winemaking, or all things Shafer – and you came through. Doug Shafer invited veteran broadcaster and wine enthusiast Spencer Christian to help navigate our way through all the queries and to add some of his own colorful thoughts and observations and w…

Later in 2021, Charles Woodson will accept a Pro Football Hall of Fame award in Canton, Ohio, just 100 miles from where he grew up in the small town of Fremont. From his start in high school football through college and an outstanding NFL career, Woodson was unstoppable, winning countless awards while at the same time becoming a philanthropist and …

Early in college Tor Kenward was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Coming home he realized that life is short and he only wanted to do things that brought him joy. That pursuit brought him to Beringer Vineyards in the 1970s where he became “Vice President of all the Fun Stuff.” In the early 2000s he and his wife Susan launched TOR Wines, a small winery …

Dalla Valle, long known for elegant and outstanding wines, is opening an exciting new chapter. Originally founded by Gustav and Naoko Dalla Valle in 1986, today the winery is run by the incredible mother and daughter team of Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle. Their story covers a lot of territory – from Northern Italy, to Kobe, Japan to Bordeaux, to the r…

In 1967 the Chappellet family built the second post-Prohibition winery in Napa Valley. Cyril was in elementary school then and mostly what he recalls is all the fun of living in the wilds of Pritchard Hill with his four brothers and sisters. The next 50-plus years have been a great adventure for the Chappellet family, who’ve made some beautiful win…

By the age of 35 Thomas Matthews had lived in several U.S. states and abroad in Belgium, France, and Spain. He didn’t see himself staying anywhere for long. Then he took a job in London to write for a magazine called Wine Spectator. And something happened. He fell in love with the world of wine. This year Tom retires after more than 30 years with W…

By the time her parents started Araujo Estate in 1990, Jaime Araujo was in college. She went on to earn four degrees, was a theater actress in London, and launched her own marketing agency in France – all before returning to Napa Valley. That life experience has been a boon in partnering with her parents on their winery, Accendo Cellars, as well as…

Oscar Renteria grew up in Napa and wanted to escape the wine industry so he went to college and earned a business degree. After graduation his father called and asked Oscar to come work for his new vineyard management company. Oscar accepted and together as they turned their business into one of Napa Valley’s leading vineyard companies. Today Oscar…

Tom Rinaldi grew up in San Francisco, enjoyed the Summer of Love, and tasted wine in Napa Valley on his motorcycle. Later he signed up for the Navy before entering UC Davis where he studied winemaking -- and the rest is history. He’s been winemaker for Round Hill, Duckhorn, Provenance, Pellet Estate, and others. His sense of adventure intact, Tom l…

In his 20s Andy Erickson thought he’d work in the diplomatic corps but an extended trek through South America’s wine country and a chance encounter with Paul Hobbs changed all that. Erickson came back and started a Napa Valley winemaking career producing outstanding wines for Dalla Valle, Screaming Eagle, Bond, Staglin, Mayacamas, as well as the wi…

Robert Kamen has written the screenplays for blockbusters including Taps, the original Karate Kid films, Fifth Element, Gladiator, Lethal Weapon 3, the Transporter Films, A Walk In the Clouds, the Taken films, and on and on. In the middle of an active screenwriting career, he's been producing some real blockbusters as one of Sonoma's top vintners w…

Though Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars grew up surrounded by wine history-in-the-making, it wasn’t obvious that vineyards and cellars were in his future. Kim’s dad, “Doc” McPherson, is credited as the father of the modern Texas wine industry but Kim’s got a degree in food science. Doc persuaded him to study winemaking at U.C. Davis and come back…

In spite of his last name, Mark Beringer’s future in wine was not a foregone conclusion. His family had sold Beringer in 1971. When he graduated from high school he thought he’d pursue music but changed course and began to study viticulture and winemaking. His career includes stints at Benzinger, Duckhorn, and Artesa before becoming winemaker at Be…

Cristie Kerr discovered golf at the age of eight growing up in Florida. She played on her high school’s boys team and by her late teens went pro, becoming one of the most successful players in LPGA history. Bringing the same drive she has in golf, Kerr has started two wine brands: the first one, Curvature, which raised funds for breast cancer resea…

From an early age Laura Catena wanted to pursue her interest in science. She earned an M.D. and became an emergency room physician in the Bay Area. Then in mid-career, while raising three children with her husband, who’s also an ER doc, she decided to join her family’s wine business in Argentina. Today she divides her time between San Francisco and…

As a kid David Graves loved science and he earned a degree in evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. Soon though, in a grad program, he realized he wasn’t enjoying life and what sounded like a lot more fun? Wine. He and a friend, Dick Ward, founded Saintsbury Winery in 1981. Today Saintsbury is known for beautifully crafted Pinot Noirs and Chardonn…

Gerald Casale is best known as co-founder and bass player of the ‘80s band Devo – a group with a style all their own with hits like “Whip It.” As the band became successful and toured the world, Gerald fell in love with great food and wine. Recently this composer and performer became a Napa Valley vintner. His Fifty By Fifty is one of Napa’s newest…

Av Shafer Vineyards

Av Shafer Vineyards

Av Shafer Vineyards

Ray Isle grew up in Houston, Texas, thinking he’d be in a band or write novels. Along the way he fell in love with the world of wine and found a way to turn that enthusiasm and excitement into a career working in wine magazines, such as Wine & Spirits, and on television in countless appearances on NBC’s The Today Show. Today Ray is executive wine e…

The enterprising mother/daughter team at the heart of Staglin Family Vineyard talks about Napa in the ‘60s, the challenges and joys of establishing a winery in the 1980s, Hollywood showing up in the 1990s, and how when son and brother, Brandon, was diagnosed with schizophrenia, the family responded by creating an annual music festival that has rais…

Zelma Long is known for her pioneering work at Robert Mondavi Winery in the early 1970s, at Simi Winery for 20 years, and for mentoring young winemakers including Paul Hobbs, Dave Ramey, Geneviève Janssens, and others. She entered the U.C. Davis winemaking program in the late 1960s, established Long Vineyards, and has done groundbreaking work in So…

Randy Lewis grew up in Atlanta, Georgia with such a love for fast cars that the local police got to know him on a first name basis. After college he turned his need for speed into a career, first racing Formula 3 in Europe and later tearing up the oval at the Indianapolis 500. In the late-1980s when he helped a friend start a Napa Valley winery, Ra…

In 1972 Bo Barrett was a surfer in Southern California when his father bought an old winery in Napa Valley called Chateau Montelena. After finishing college Bo started working at the winery and in this episode he talks what he learned about winemaking, vineyards, economic cycles, parenthood, and how movies, such as Bottle Shock, are made. Today Bo …

In college Dave Ramey initially pursued an interest in literature before realizing his passion for wine. He earned a degree in enology in the late 1970s and sought out jobs in France and Australia. Back in the U.S. he worked at Simi, then Matanzas Creek, and later at Dominus before creating his own brand, Ramey Wine Cellars., one of California’s mo…

Tim Mondavi spent more than 30 years working with his father at Robert Mondavi Winery until the family lost control of winery. Undaunted he started over with a new winery aptly named Continuum. Today Tim and his family are celebrating 100 years in the wine industry and he is more passionate than ever about producing world-class wine. Enjoy! For mor…

At UC Davis Tony Biagi discovered the enology program and wine became his overriding passion. He first worked for Duckhorn and went on to launch the winemaking programs at wineries including Paraduxx, Cade, Odette, and Hourglass. Today he consults with clients, including Amici and Lasseter, and has started his own brand, Patria. Enjoy! For more vis…

Helen Keplinger grew up envisioning a future in medical science, however, wine offered greater adventure – taking her to work with winemakers in Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Australia, Spain, and South Africa. Today she has her own wine brand while making wine with golfer Cristie Kerr and for iconic winery Grace Family. Enjoy! For more visit: keplin…

This episode gives you two incredible life stories in one – that of Hanns Kornell, who managed to get out of a Nazi concentration camp, make his way to America, and founded a winery near Calistoga producing sparkling wine and that of Paula Kornell growing up at her parent’s winery, working with some top wineries such as Mondavi and Joseph Phelps, a…

Shafer winemaker Elias Fernandez grew up in Napa Valley, attending school with the kids of prominent winery families. Meanwhile he got a taste of agriculture working in vineyards and orchards alongside his parents and later during summers at Louis Martini Winery. He was the first in his family to attend college, where he discovered a love of winema…

Beth and Lindy Novak have lots of great memories of growing up in Napa Valley including hanging out with the Shafer kids. But things got tough when their father died unexpectedly and their mother, Mary Novak, had to figure out her next steps. Fortunately Mary and her daughters created Spottswoode Estate, turning it into one of the top wineries in N…

As a teenager Mia Klein wanted to be a chef. In her first job as a cook, however, she discovered wine and a whole new path opened up for her. In 1984 she landed her first job at Chappellet. Eventually Klein became one of the busiest consulting winemakers in Napa Valley, producing wines for Spottswoode, Araujo, Viader, Dalla Valle, and others, inclu…

Few people can tell the story of California wine from the 1950s to today with the flair and authenticity of Richard Peterson. Hired by Gallo in 1958, later by legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff at Napa Valley’s Beaulieu Vineyard, and eventually striking out on his own, Peterson lived the highs and lows of American wine during these crucial yea…

Not long out of college Kyle MacLachlan was cast as the lead in the 1984 film, Dune, launching a career, that's included film and TV roles in Blue Velvet, The Doors, Twin Peaks, Portlandia, and more. In the early 2000s, wanting to reconnect with his Washington-state roots, he launched his wine brand Pursued By Bear, producing delicious Cabernet, Sy…

Marilisa Allegrini travels the world promoting her families wines made throughout Italy’s top appellations. She was not always eager to be part of the family business. In her 20s she pursued a career in medicine before her father talked her into joining the family business. She has been a pivotal figure in the renaissance of wines from Valpolicella…