Doug Shafer

When 17-year-old Doug Shafer, learned that his family was moving in 1972 from their long-time home in Chicago to sunny California all he could picture was a new life of beaches, surfboards, and bikinis.

So, he was initially bewildered when his dad drove the family station wagon to their new home in a rural farming community he’d never heard of called Napa Valley. All he saw here were mountains, pick-up trucks, orchards, and vineyards. No surf or sand anywhere in sight.

Soon enough though, he fell in love with this new way of life — its pace, beauty, and people. He’d never seen his father, John Shafer, so happy as he was driving a tractor through their newly purchased vineyard property. When it came time for college, Doug chose to major in viticulture to learn how to tend grape vines.

In 1978, his dad made the first Shafer Vineyards wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the family’s hillside vines. In 1983 Doug joined the winery as winemaker and eleven years later he took the reins as president of Shafer Vineyards.

Over the following decades Doug traveled the U.S. and the world promoting both Shafer and Napa Valley. He met wine lovers, celebrities, fellow vintners, and Michelin-starred chefs and always loved hearing their stories over a meal or a glass of wine.

Today Doug is focused on his work with nonprofits and bringing great stories of the people of food and wine to you on ‘The Taste.’