The Taste with Doug Shafer – Stories of Winemakers and Wine

By Doug Shafer

What's The Taste with Doug Shafer – Stories of Winemakers and Wine about?

Serving up stories of food and wine. “Mainly, I’m interested in people’s stories – where they started, their struggles, successes, and how they ended up where they’ve ended up,” says Doug Shafer.

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The Taste with Doug Shafer – Stories of Winemakers and Wine episodes:

11.07.2022
Violet Grgich
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...
08.17.2022
Hugh Davies
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...
06.02.2022
John and Rory Williams
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...
04.05.2022
John Kongsgaard
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...
12.13.2021
Alan and Delia Viader
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...
11.19.2021
Adam Lee
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...
09.02.2021
Donald Patz
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,...
07.29.2021
Elizabeth Vianna
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...
07.01.2021
Michael Silacci
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...
06.04.2021
Jay McInerney
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...
04.28.2021
Listener Questions with Spencer Christian
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...
04.06.2021
Charles Woodson
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...
03.12.2021
Tor Kenward
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...
02.26.2021
Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle
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...
02.01.2021
Cyril Chappellet
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...
12.15.2020
Tom Matthews
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...
11.24.2020
Jaime Araujo
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...
10.16.2020
Oscar Renteria
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....
09.18.2020
Tom Rinaldi
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...
08.20.2020
Andy Erickson
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 (https://shafervineyards.com/podcast/Doug-Shafer-Paul-Hobbs-podcast.php) changed all that. Erickson came back and started a Napa Valley...
07.28.2020
Robert Kamen
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...
07.14.2020
Kim McPherson
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...
06.12.2020
Mark Beringer
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...
05.21.2020
Cristie Kerr
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...
05.06.2020
Laura Catena
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...
04.17.2020
David Graves
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....
03.24.2020
Gerald Casale
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...
03.02.2020
Robin Lail
This episode with Robin Lail covers nearly all of Napa Valley’s winemaking history – from her great-grand-uncle, Gustave Niebaum establishing Inglenook in 1879, through the rebuilding years after Prohibition, to the birth and boom of Napa’s modern era. Her story...
02.11.2020
Spencer Christian
Spencer Christian is recognized as Good Morning America’s former weatherman but is less known as a wine pioneer. He created the first national wine show in the 1990s on HGTV – and he’s still sharing his love of wine on...
01.22.2020
Hailey and Lorenzo Trefethen
Brother and sister, Lorenzo and Hailey Trefethen, are the third generation of their family involved in the wine business in Napa Valley. They look back at more than a century of their historic winery and vineyard property, reflecting on the...
12.17.2019
Ray Isle
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...
12.05.2019
Shari and Shannon Staglin
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,...
11.05.2019
Zelma Long
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....
10.11.2019
Randy Lewis
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...
09.19.2019
Bo Barrett
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...
09.03.2019
Dave Ramey
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...
08.13.2019
Tim Mondavi
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...
07.30.2019
Tony Biagi
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...
07.16.2019
Helen Keplinger
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...
06.24.2019
Paula Kornell
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...
05.16.2019
Elias Fernandez
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...
05.03.2019
Beth and Lindy Novak
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...
02.15.2019
Mia Klein
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...
01.17.2019
Richard Peterson
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...
01.17.2019
Richard Peterson
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,
01.03.2019
Kyle MacLachlan
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,
01.03.2019
Kyle MacLachlan
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...
12.18.2018
Maralissa Allegrini
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...
12.18.2018
Maralissa Allegrini
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...
12.04.2018
Giovanni Manetti
In 1968, Giovanni Manetti’s father purchased a rundown vineyard in Chianti called Fontodi that he set about restoring on weekends. Giovanni eventually took charge of the winery and through hard work – and breaking a few rules along the way...

What's The Taste with Doug Shafer – Stories of Winemakers and Wine about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Taste with Doug Shafer – Stories of Winemakers and Wine episodes:

Violet Grgich

Hugh Davies

John and Rory Williams

John Kongsgaard

Alan and Delia Viader

Adam Lee

Donald Patz

Elizabeth Vianna

Michael Silacci

Jay McInerney

Listener Questions with Spencer Christian

Charles Woodson

Tor Kenward

Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle

Cyril Chappellet

Tom Matthews

Jaime Araujo

Oscar Renteria

Tom Rinaldi

Andy Erickson

Robert Kamen

Kim McPherson

Mark Beringer

Cristie Kerr

Laura Catena

David Graves

Gerald Casale

Robin Lail

Spencer Christian

Hailey and Lorenzo Trefethen

Ray Isle

Shari and Shannon Staglin

Zelma Long

Randy Lewis

Bo Barrett

Dave Ramey

Tim Mondavi

Tony Biagi

Helen Keplinger

Paula Kornell

Elias Fernandez

Beth and Lindy Novak

Mia Klein

Richard Peterson

Richard Peterson

Kyle MacLachlan

Kyle MacLachlan

Maralissa Allegrini

Maralissa Allegrini

Giovanni Manetti