Podcasts

Donald Patz

59 minutes

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 projects – including his first venture into Cabernet. For more visit: DonaldPatzWineGroup.com

20210902

Elizabeth Vianna

50 minutes

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 manager at Chimney Rock. Enjoy! For more visit: ChimneyRock.com

20210729

Michael Silacci

51 minutes

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 the best. Enjoy! For more visit: OpusOneWinery.com

20210701

Jay McInerney

51 minutes

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 wines, winemakers, wine regions, and more. Enjoy!

20210604

Listener Questions with Spencer Christian

67 minutes

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 we had a blast. Enjoy!

20210428

Charles Woodson

59 minutes

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 successful vintner with his Intercept Wines brand. We cover the whole field in this episode. Enjoy! For more visit: CWinterceptwines.com

20210406

Tor Kenward

48 minutes

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 that has consistently produced vintage after vintage of beautiful, outstanding wines. Enjoy! For more visit: TorWines.com

20210312

Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle

45 minutes

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 red soils of their vineyards off Silverado Trail. Enjoy! For more visit: DallaValleVineyards.com

20210226

Cyril Chappellet

65 minutes

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 wines along the way. Enjoy! For more visit: Chappellet.com

20210201

Tom Matthews

63 minutes

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 Wine Spectator, 21 of those as Executive Editor. It’s been quite a ride - enjoy! For more visit: WineSpectator.com

20201215

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A series from Doug Shafer about the people behind the food & wine you love.