At the age of 47, when he a successful publishing executive and living with his wife and four children in an affluent chicago suburb, john shafer. Shafer vineyards first 25 years shafer, john, illus. Jun 12, 20 in the early 1970s, teenager doug shafer moved with his family from chicago to california, where they started a new life as pioneer winegrowers in the stags leap district. The world of wine always inspired dad and he loved nothing more than to work. A vineyard in napa provides an inside look at how wine history is made. Shafer vineyards hillside select cabernet sauvignon stags. He bought a plot of land in the stags leap hills, and terraced and replanted the steep vineyards. Shafer vineyards located in the stags leap district of napa valley, shafer vineyards is one of the valleys most enduring success stories. Its been a long, crazy journey to the success he enjoys today. Shafer vineyards napa california cabernet sauvignon merlot. The team, which balances hard work with fun and learning, includes ceo john shafer, president doug shafer his son and. Shafer vineyards one point five cabernet sauvignon.
In the early 1970s, teenager doug shafer moved with his family from chicago to california, where they started a new life as pioneer winegrowers in the stags leap district. The vineyards have a southern exposure allowing the grapes to ripen slowly. A number of years ago shafer completed a major remodel of the winery. One doesnt have to be a wine connoisseur to appreciate john shafers story. Parker, jr since 1978 the shafer family has produced wine in the stags leap district, one of the most highlyregarded winegrowing regions within napa valley. His grandson said of him,he was a man naturally of a strong mind, of strict integrity, not lacking in sagacity, of great industry and indomitable perseverance, guided in all his actions by a principle of moral rectitude. The shafer property has been a grapegrowing and winemaking site since the 1880s. John shafer died 2019 founded shafer vineyards after a long corporate career in the book publishing industry, based in chicago. The first few years were challenging experimenting, working long hours, learning from our mistakes, pushing ourselves to. A vineyard in napa relates how one winery and one family confronted those challenges.
The book also tells the story of wine development in the napa valley and the impact of environmental and economic changes on the wine industry from the perspective of a family winery. It is particularly known for its hillside select cabernet sauvignon, regarded as one of the very finest wines in california. From a modest beginning of 1,000 cases in 1978, the winery has grown steadily until reaching its present size of 32,000 cases of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, sangiovese and syrah. In addition to closing our visitor center, shafer vineyards has moved to reduced hours for handling emails and phone calls related to wine orders, shipments, future reservations, and general questions. Since 1983 this family team has worked side by side to manage their stags leap district winery. The winery and vineyards are nestled in the foothills of the gales creek valley, a small agricultural region within the willamette valley, 30 miles west of portland. The first vintage of cabernet was 1978, and shafer s wines have gone on to great critical acclaim. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Shafer vineyards was, earlier than expected, on the map.
Hillside select is a wine of a place, produced each vintage from carefully selected blocks of the hillside vineyards surrounding the winery. Feb 21, 2020 shafer vineyards napa california cabernet sauvignon merlot chardonnay everything about shafer vineyards, napa valley wine producer profile, wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, history of the property, information on their wine making techniques, terroir and soil. The initiation of john shafers venture came on the cusp of an awakening for california wine. Were on the lookout for great wine deals and when we see them, well send you an email. John shafer, 94, who made triumphant leap into winemaking.
There are a few names in napa that are synonymous with really high quality wine. In 1978 the first of their grapes, a cabernet, were ready for crushing. John shafer, napa valley philanthropist and founder of the influential shafer vineyards, died on march 2. But the story of john shafer and his family wouldnt be nearly so interesting if thats all it was. Shafer vineyards was born when john shafer moved his family to napa valley to begin his second career. It lies on gales creek valley in forest grove, which is 30 miles from portland. We visited with friends for a tasting and were lucky enough to meet the winemaker very personable as well as the owner who made a point to come in the tasting. Stags leap district winegrowers association shafer vineyards.
Due to the nature of our tastings and to preserve a tranquil atmosphere for all of our guests, we require that all visitors are at least 21 years of age. Over the course of his life, john shafer embraced a number of fascinating jobs in world war ii he piloted b24 bombers in europe, then for a time he put his cornell university engineering degree to good use, and later he moved into publishing, rising to the level of corporate executive with scott foresman in chicago. Shafer vineyard cellars sweet delight riesling half. Beautiful winery and wines what a beautiful winery nestled into the hills in the stags leap district and still family owned a real treasure. He was a great farmer, a great father, a great grandfather. For groups of nine to fourteen guests, please inquire for tasting availability. There are a few, however, that make up a second tier of. W hat an excellent example our first family set for us.
We visited with friends for a tasting and were lucky enough to meet the winemaker very personable as well as the owner who made a. In 1984 he was joined by his son doug shafer, who now runs the winery. Located in the stags leap district of napa valley, shafer vineyards is one of the valleys most enduring success stories. Shafer vineyards you are here home winery list shafer vineyards. The shafers own and farm 200 acres of vineyards, sources for shafer s signature wine, hillside select, one point five cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, and relentless syrah.
Written by doug shafer, the son of john shafer, the patriarch of shafer vineyards, this book tells the life story of the vineyard and how it. With the first wines appearing in 1978, shafer vineyards is one of the founding estates of and a benchmark in quality for the stags leap district ava. He and his family spent six years replanting the vineyards on the estate he purchased in the stags leap district. Risdall ranch winery is evolving a tradition of oregon wine started in 1978.
The first years as fledgling grape growers were arduous. John anthony vineyards, or his runaway brand jam cellars, he was a kid growing up working in vineyards with his dad, tony truchard. Wine spectator labeled it a powerful, gutsy wine with tons of personality and big tannins. In 1972 he and his family moved to the napa valley and purchased 209 acres which at the time had 30 acres of vines dating from 1922 none of these old vines remain as they have all been replanted. When the shafer family started the business in 1973 they had no plans for winemaking, just grape growing on. John shafer and his family brought a surprisingly haphazard and improvisational approach to learning the winery trade, but jay mcinerney finds that the. Larkmead is one of the oldest, familyowned grapegrowing estates in the napa valley. Shafer vineyards relentless blend was the wine spectators 2012 wine of the year. Purchasing our wines is only possible if you are an active member on one of our lists. Shafers place is 34 acres of pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, riesling, sauvignon blanc, and gewurztraminer grapes. Get snooth s free wine newsletter for a daily dose of what to drink right now, pairing ideas, wine country travel tips, and more. Shafer vineyard cellars sweet delight riesling halfbottle 1995 from willamette valley, oregon.
As the shafer winery took shape, john hired a winemaker and his daughter, libby, joined the fledgling operation to help with sales and. Originally established in 1895, the estate is now under the stewardship of proprietors cam baker and kate solari baker. Risdall ranch winery was established in 2016, when winemaker emery risdall and his father, bob, became the new owners of shafer vineyard cellars, a forest grove winery with almost four decades of local heritage. Two years later, john shafer made the leap from grower to vintner, at least on paper, drawing up a family partnership for shafer vineyards. A historical timeline of shafer vineyards in napa valley from the late 1800s to now. But the shafer family history is a truly compelling tale and their journey is equally as inspiring. See 34 photos and 5 tips from 316 visitors to shafer vineyards. Formerly shafer vineyard cellars, risdall ranch winery makes estategrown pinot noir, riesling, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, rose of pinot noir, and the winter gluwein longtime visitors know and love. Sign up for the napa valley list and purchase wine. Shafer vineyards is one of the most celebrated wine estates in all of napa valley.
When you make a reservation to visit shafer vineyards, youre immediately sent a confirmation email filled with all sorts of information about the winery and your appointment. Tom colicchio we all have our unique stories as to how we came to the napa valleyand chose to call it home. John shafer plants cabernet sauvignon, creating small hillside vineyard blocks such as sunspot and johns upper seven. These grapes are small and deeply colored, with concentrated flavors enhanced by meticulous winemaking and.
Part of this upgrade included the installation of numerous solar cells. We take the scores from frances leading wine critic duo, map them into a single space to adjust for differences between our other partner critics rating tendencies, and rebase them to use the full wine lister point scale. Shafer vineyards traces its beginnings to 1972 when john shafer left a 23year career in the publishing industry and, with his family, moved to the napa valley to pursue a second career in wine. Shafer began life in 1972 when john shafer arrived in napa with the hope of growing his own wine. Find 1 listings related to shafer vineyards in forest grove on. Shafer vineyards is a 32,000 case winery in napa valleys stags leap district managed by the father and son team of john and doug shafer. This winelevel score is the average of all the vintages in our database, with a higher weighting for the most recent vintage. Thats what hed be proudest of, even more so than the winery. The first few years were challenging experimenting, working long hours, learning from our mistakes, pushing ourselves to make the best wines we could.
Many of them, however, are elusive and rare a few thousand bottles that sell for hundreds of dollars to mailing list customers only. If you read that document carefully, you learn just about everything you need to know about the shafer mindset. Today shafer wines are available in major markets nationwide and in many foreign markets. Shafer vineyards is a familyowned wine producer in the stags leap district of the napa valley. Tasting is an expensive, but a rewarding and very educational experience to taste the. We welcome visitors for tastings by appointment only. Shafer vineyards napa 2020 all you need to know before. At shafer vineyards, it takes a team to make one of napa valleys top cabs. Winery construction began in 1979 and was completed the.
The shafers own and farm 200 acres of vineyards, sources for shafers signature wine, hillside select, one point five cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, and relentless syrah. Shafer vineyards traces its roots to 1972, when chicago publishing executive john shafer and his family moved to the napa valley and purchased a 210 acre wine estate in the stags leap district. That debut wine was released in 1981 to high praise from critics and consumers alike. John and son doug terraced the steep and rocky hillsides and replanted decadesold vineyards. Longtime winery owner and innovator left his mark on wine industry and napa valley charities the shafer family is deeply saddened to announce the death of their father, longtime vintner, philanthropist and winery founder, john shafer on march 2, 2019. John shafer and his family brought a surprisingly haphazard and improvisational approach to learning the winery trade, but jay mcinerney finds that the results are some of napa valleys finest wines. Established in the early 1970s by john shafer and his son doug, 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of their first.
A daily postcard with a few simple words of wine wisdom. Note the rusty looking metal till that sits in front of the main stairwell leading up to the office. Aug 21, 2007 at shafer vineyards, it takes a team to make one of napa valleys top cabs. We ask for your patience and hope that you are well. Ohio wineries guidebook paperback september 1, 2002 by david b. Shafer vineyard cellars owneroperators jerry and miki kramer, forest grove, or. In 1978 john made the first shafer vineyards wine, a cabernet sauvignon sourced from the first newly planted block of hillside vines. Shafer was an early visionary for napa valley hillside vineyards now widely.
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