Shafer Vineyards in Napa 

The history of the Napa Valley cannot be told without the inclusion of Shafer Vineyards, founded in 1972 by Chicago publishing executive John Shafer, who bought a hillside site in what became the Stags Leap District American Viticultural Area, with the goal of planting Cabernet Sauvignon. After planting grapes and waiting, the first Shafer wine was made in 1978.

John’s son Doug came on board in 1983 as winemaker, joined a year later by Elias Fernandez as assistant winemaker. Fernandez took over the head winemaker role in 1994 and is celebrating his 40th harvest with Shafer this year. 

With 250 acre in vines, one of the latest innovations at Shafer is the introduction of artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology, which Fernandez is integrating into the vineyard sustainability program. In addition to tractors, shovels, pruning shears and work gloves, vineyard management includes A.I., with the ever-present goal of always improving wine quality.

One example of Shafer A.I. is attaching an iPhone to the front of a tractor or ATV to upload photos of grape vines. These photos go into a program called CropX, which is able to read how much water the vines might need.

“We used to have to rely on readings from a handful of individual vines in a vineyard block to tell us how much we should or shouldn’t irrigate,” Fernandez says. “Now we know what’s happening inside all of the vines. We’ve gone from three or four data points to thousands.”

Rover Vision, the name of another new technology, helps conserve water, part of the winery’s overall commitment to sustainable farming.

“The best wine from these hillsides comes from vines that struggle but maintain a good level of health,” adds Fernandez. “It’s a delicate balancing act and this new A.I. technology allows us to maintain that balance with even greater accuracy than ever before.”

Tastings

Tastings at Shafer are by appointment only Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Terrace View Tasting ($125) lasts 90 minutes and focuses on Shafer’s current-release wines, including Hillside Select, and is paired with cheese and charcuterie.

The Private Collectors Experience ($195) is a 90-minute sit-down tasting held in Shafer’s private tasting salon or in a private vineyard suite. Current wines are poured along with a library bottling of Hillside Select, paired with cheese and charcuterie.

The Hillside Select Experience ($500) is a private two-hour experience that begins with Champagne and caviar followed by a tour of the estate via Polaris Ranger. A tasting of the current vintage of Hillside Select is set up in the heart of the vineyard before a seated tasting of three vintages of rare library Hillside Selects is enjoyed back at the winery. 

Setting

Shafer’s winery and tasting room is tucked into the foothills of the Stags Leap District, surrounded by vineyards, an expansive lawn and other inviting landscaping. A lovely patio is the perfect setting for an outdoor tasting while indoor rooms are designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to bring the outdoors in. From Shafer’s idyllic outpost it can feel as though no other winery in the Napa Valley exists, secluded but not far off the Silverado Trail from downtown Napa and Yountville. 

Current Offerings

Shafer’s signature white is its estate Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay from Carneros. This is an amazingly complex, weighty and layered white that retains plenty of acidity.

The TD-9 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is named for John Shafer’s first tractor, while the One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon honors the partnership between John and Doug Shafer, who considered their intertwined professional union closer to a generation and a half rather than a second-generation passing of the baton from father to son.

Relentless Napa Valley is a proprietary blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah, sourced from vineyards at Stags Leap District’s southern border, and of course Hillside Select is Shafer’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine made famous the world over. A Merlot is winery-exclusive.

History

Shafer Vineyards may have been founded by the Shafer family in 1972 but the property’s history of grapegrowing and winemaking dates back to 1880. It continued operations through the era of Prohibition by growing grapes for home winemakers.

John Shafer found the site perfect for growing hillside Cabernet Sauvignon. The first Shafer wine was made in 1978. Over time, the family planted 225 acres of vines across four ranches, two in Stags Leap District, one in Carneros and another in Oak Knoll.

Shafer has had a commitment to sustainability for nearly its entire history, using lighter bottles for its wines and employing cover crops and sheep in the vineyard to create healthy insect habitats and eliminate the need for pesticides and herbicides. Rainwater is captured for irrigation, while other water used in the production facility is reused and recycled. A.I. is now also used to sensor and monitor water use with even greater precision.

Around the property, hawks and owls are given a habitat to thrive so they can help with rodent control. In 2004 the winery became the first to become 100% powered by solar energy.

A visit to the Napa Valley is not complete without spending time at Shafer, one of its greatest estates and longstanding producers of world-class wines. Its secluded setting and dedication to luxury experiences makes it a breath of fresh air for visitors.