Basic Info

Shafer Vineyards traces its beginnings to Napa’s legendary Class of 1972, which also includes Caymus, Silver Oak, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, among others. It was that year in which John Shafer left a 23-year career in the publishing industry and, with his family, moved to the Napa Valley to pursue a second career in wine. After purchasing a 210-acre estate in Napa Valley's Stags Leap District, the Shafer family faced the arduous task of replanting the existing vineyards, which dated to the 1920s, and terracing the steep and rocky hillsides, eventually expanding vineyard acreage to its current 50 acres. Evolving from grape growers to vintners, the Shafers crushed their first Cabernet grapes in 1978 and began construction on their winery a year later. The first Shafer Cabernet became a benchmark, winning the acclaimed San Francisco Vintners Club taste-off upon release and, over a decade later taking first place in an international blind tasting held in Germany, where it outranked such wines as Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour and Chateau Palmer. From a modest beginning of 1,000 cases in 1978, the winery has grown steadily into one of the world’s most respected producers, turning out some of the most sought-after wines in the New World.