Shafer Vineyards

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. The first years as fledgling grape growers were arduous. John and son Doug terraced the steep and rocky hillsides and replanted decades-old vineyards. Evolving from grape growers to vintners, the Shafers crushed their first Cabernet in 1978 and began construction on a winery the following year.

Today, the Shafers own and farm 200 acres of sustainable vineyard, sources for the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah. John is now chairman, Doug is president and the talented Elias Fernandez is winemaker.

17-time Winner “American Winery of the Year”, Wine & Spirits

“There are very few wineries in California where you can say that the original wine owners and winemaking staff are totally intact and have been, in this case, since 1978. The estate was founded by John Shafer and run with great precision by himself and more recently by his son Doug and Elias Fernandez. The team has been working together for 38 years since the first vintage in 1978. Six years earlier in 1972, John Shafer bought the property and established the vineyard in the hillsides of Stags Leap. They produce about 30,000 cases of wine – all of it noteworthy. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is true first-growth quality and their Rhône Ranger wine made from Syrah and Petite Sirah, called Relentless, is about as profound as you can get from those varietals.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, October 2016