The Taste with Doug Shafer – a Podcast About Wine, Food, and Friends

It's hard to believe that we recently lost Tom Rinaldi. He had a big impact on Napa wine and beyond that was a great friend and a fantastic human being.Tom grew up in San Francisco, where he experienced the Summer of Love —think Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. He tasted wine in Napa Valley on motorcycle trips here starting when he was 16.Later, he signed up for the Navy before entering UC Davis where he studied winemaking — and the rest is history. He essentially invented Napa Valley Merlot as we know it today.He was winemaker for Round Hill, Duckhorn, Provenance, Pellet Estate, and others. In this episode we recorded in August of 2020, during those early months of Covid, his sense of adventure was intact and he looked forward to many more vintages to come. We'll miss him.

Long before Joe Czerwinski reviewed Napa Valley wines for Robert Parker Wine Advocate, he spent two hours a day reading about wine, visiting local wine shops, and making decades-long friendships on first-generation wine forums in the early 2000s.The journey to his current position took him through archaeology, a wine retail job in Manhattan, and a long career writing and editing medical and science textbooks before he landed his first wine writing and reviewing gig at Wine Enthusiast.In this episode Joe talks about how he approaches tasting thousands of wines per year while balancing his other loves: family, hockey, fly fishing, and football.For more, visit: Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Third-generation vintner Violet Grgich tells an incredible family wine story that spans a century and includes a world war, daring escapes, and a years-long journey to Napa Valley.In this classic episode first posted in 2022, Violet tells how her grandfather was a winemaker in their small town in Croatia, a passion picked up by her father, Mike Grgich. Mike escaped threats in communist Croatia and made his way to Napa where he helped put the region on the world stage, producing the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the famed Judgement of Paris.He went on to start Grgich-Hills Estate, where Violet essentially grew up and where today she is president. Enjoy!For more visit: Grgich.com

In 1972 Bo Barrett was a surfer in Southern California when his father bought a historic winery in Napa Valley called Chateau Montelena.After finishing college Bo went from beach life to cellar life, working full-time at the winery, located near Calistoga. In this classic episode (posted originally in Sept 2019) he talks about what he’s learned about winemaking, vineyards, economic cycles, parenthood, and how movies, such as Bottle Shock, are made.Today Bo is CEO of one of the most venerated wineries in the U.S. Enjoy!For more visit: montelena.com

Andy Hoxsey has Napa Valley in his DNA. His great-grandfather bought the family's first Napa Valley vineyard in 1903 with a $10 gold coin. His grandfather helped usher in the 1968 Ag Preserve, which has protected the Valley from development. Andy created the modern version of custom crush at Napa Wine Company and established Ghost Block Wine Estates with vines planted in the footprint of George Yount's 1839 vineyard that was Napa's first vineyard. His children are, today, continuing to define what it means to produce wine here.This episode is a true celebration of Napa Valley. It's a look at how the generations of one family remain in conversation with each other and how the past shapes the present and plants the seeds for the future.We hope you enjoy this special episode as much as much as we enjoyed spending time with Andy.To learn more, visit:Ghost Block Wine EstatesNapa Wine Company

Had you met Karen Cakebread in the 1980s, when she worked in an accounting role at Hewlett-Packard, you might be forgiven for not predicting she'd go on to have a long career in Napa Valley wine. But within a few years, she married Steve Cakebread and began representing Cakebread Cellars in markets across Asia.Back in Napa Valley, she worked in a variety of roles at Cakebread, including tasks in the cellar and vineyard, while also focusing on international marketing and culinary programs.In the late 1990s, Karen helped organize a women-led philanthropic foundation to raise funds for breast cancer research. The group supported the cause by taking on challenges together, including summiting Mount Kilimanjaro.In 2008, following her instincts, Karen moved on from Cakebread to launch Ziata, her own Napa Valley wine brand, enlisting the help of winemaker (and former podcast guest) Nile Zacherle. When Nile moved on to David Arthur Vineyards, Karen received a strong recommendation for a new winemaker from her friend Heidi Barrett.Today, Ziata is a partnership between Karen and her friends at Trinchero Family Estates. She also continues to support the vitality of the wine industry as president of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers.For more visit:ZiataNapa Valley Grapegrowers"Grown in Napa Valley" - the Grapegrowers podcast

In this episode, we welcome our longtime friend David Ilsley, whose family has been part of Napa Valley's grape-growing and winemaking community for more than 70 years.David's grandfather purchased the family's first vineyard in 1954. Since then they have expanded their acreage and moved into vineyard management and winemaking along the way.David grew up in the heart of Napa Valley and attended local schools where he earned a reputation as a top football player. He went on to play at the University of Washington during one of the program's greatest eras, eventually competing in three Rose Bowls.When he returned to Napa, David followed two previous generations of the Ilsley family into vineyard work and in 1998 became director of vineyard operations at Shafer Vineyards, a position he's held ever since.We had a great time catching up with David and learning how vineyard work has evolved over his lifetime, becoming both more of an art and a science, and ultimately helping to capture Napa Valley's poetry in a bottle.To learn more, visit Ilsley Vineyards and Shafer Vineyards.Enjoy!

Cuong Pham has one of the most remarkable stories we've ever heard on the podcast. He escaped Vietnam in 1979 and lived in a refugee camp in Malaysia before making it to the U.S. Here he became an engineer at Apple in its early days where he built a long, successful career.In the early 2000s, with a longing for the flavors of his mother's cooking, he began the work of creating Red Boat Fish Sauce company, which has become a global phenomenon.Cuong's most recent adventure began when he and his wife, Ann, purchased a hillside property on Soda Canyon Road in Napa Valley. With his new vineyard established, Cuong has launched a winery called Doi Da, which is Vietnamese for "Rocky Hill." We learned about the wines both from him and his highly regarded winemaker Nova Cadamatre.We also learned a host of surprising similarities between making fish sauce and producing wine, involving terroir, harvest, fermentation, aging, and more.We were riveted by this one.Learn more at:redboatfishsauce.comdoidawine.com

Blake Van Treese has one of the best vantage points in the wine business. As president of Last Bottle, First Bottle, Last Bubbles, and several other online wine retail brands, he sees firsthand how consumers are discovering, purchasing, and talking about wine.Growing up in Napa Valley, Blake's connection to wine runs deep. After first pursuing his love of music in college, he returned to Napa and discovered his path in the retail wine business. Along the way, he also became Doug's son-in-law, marking the first time we've had a family member on the podcast.We had a great time discussing wine trends and technology, the importance of producer relationships, and how the Last Bottle and First Bottle business models are changing the way people discover and buy wine.In another first on the podcast, Blake is offering a promo code that can be used on Last Bottle, Last Bubbles, and First Bottle. It is good for $15 off $100 or more for new customers only and expires on September 1, 2026.The code is: TASTE15Learn more at:LastBottleWines.comFirstBottleWines.comLastBubbles.comInvino.comCAWineClub.comGoldMedalWineClub.comWineOfTheMonthClub.comWineScout.com

The city of Napa was once better known for its car dealerships and dive bars than for top-tier dining. That changed in the late 1990s when a young chef named Greg Cole, against the advice of others, rolled the dice on launching a small restaurant called Celadon. When Celadon became a sensation, he followed it up by opening the now-legendary Cole’s Chop House.Chef Cole’s path to helping reinvent Napa’s food scene started in a Southern California diner and included stops at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, the restaurant at Chandon, a brewery, a stint as a cellar worker, and more.What he started in the 1990s has become a full-blown food renaissance in Napa.Cole is an incredible storyteller, and we had an absolutely unforgettable hour with him. Enjoy!For more on the restaurants he founded, visit Celadon Napa and Cole's Chop House.

Nile Zacherle was once advised he needed to choose between making wine and brewing beer. Fortunately he didn't take that advice.Instead, he takes a winemaker's approach to producing an array of phenomenal beers under the Mad Fritz brand that he manages with his wife, Whitney Fisher.At the same time, Nile crafts gorgeous wines for David Arthur Vineyards, located in Napa's renowned Pritchard Hill area.We had a great time learning how Nile first fell in love with wine and beer at a young age and went on to work at wineries and breweries for many years after earning his degree at U.C. Davis. These included stints at Chateau Montelena and Barnett Vineyards.Recently, the Mad Fritz brand welcomed a new world of flavor by introducing single origin coffee.We get into all of it in an episode that we absolutely loved recording.For more on the beer, visit: MadFritz.comTo learn about David Arthur: DavidArthur.comCheck out Whitney Fisher's family winery: FisherVineyards.com

Where wine, community, and technology converge, you'll find the phenomenon of CellarTracker and its founder Eric LeVine.The numbers are staggering: 1.1 million registered users have tracked 200 million wines and posted more than 12 million reviews.Eric takes us through the story of CellarTracker's beginning with his years at Microsoft, which coincided with his growing love of wine. As his personal cellar expanded, he grew frustrated trying to manage it using a spreadsheet. Putting his coding skills to work, in March 2003 Eric created CellarTracker in a rudimentary form.Within months he opened the website up, at no cost, to other users. And In a move that pre-dated Facebook and the coming social media boom, CellarTracker incorporated a sense of community with its shared tasting notes.Collectors flocked to the site and by 2018 CellarTracker had racked up more than 7 million tasting notes and had tracked 100 million bottles.Over the past 23 years the site has evolved, offering collectors greater freedom to share their wine impressions with each other and more ways to enjoy their cellar holdings. Eric lays out what's coming for the site, including exciting new features powered by AI.Learn more: cellartracker.com 

Winemaker Robert Foley knows exactly when wine won him over – it was 1969 when he got the rare chance to visit the cellars at Inglenook and taste classic wines out of casks. With this inspiration, he went on to study winemaking at UC Davis with a who's who of future winemaking stars.His story is legendary. Straight out of Davis, he landed a job at Heitz Cellars, working with Joe Heitz. He went on to help launch Markham Vineyards, where he became one of Napa's first to craft indelible Merlots, igniting the Merlot boom. He then helped launch Pride Mountain Vineyards, where he learned the intricate vine-by-vine approach needed to make wine from high atop Spring Mountain, overlooking both Napa and Sonoma valleys.Today Robert Foley produces wines of beautiful character and distinction from another Napa Valley mountain source – Howell Mountain. He pours decades of experience and care into his wines, whether for his own Robert Foley Vineyards or for clients such as Hourglass and Padis.Bob is also a talented, longtime musician, performing and touring with lifelong friends in the Robert Foley Band. Check out their albums on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.For more on his story and his wines, visit robertfoleyvineyards.com.

In this classic episode, Paula Kornell takes us on an exceptional journey spanning two continents, one war, and more than 60 years of Napa Valley winemaking.Her father, Hanns Kornell, a third-generation winemaker in Germany, managed to escape a Nazi concentration camp, make his way to America, and found a winery near Calistoga specializing in sparkling wine.Paula was born the year after the winery launched and grew up in the Napa Valley of the ’60s and ’70s. She later worked with top wineries such as Robert Mondavi and Joseph Phelps. When we first posted this episode in 2019, she had come full circle, debuting her own sparkling wine brand — which is going stronger than ever today.Learn more: paulakornell.com

In this classic episode, Robin Lail of Lail Vineyards takes us on an unbelievable family journey.Her roots in Napa Valley span nearly all of winemaking history here – from her great-grand-uncle, Gustave Niebaum, establishing Inglenook in 1879, through her father, John Daniel, rebuilding the winery after Prohibition in the 1930s, to the birth and boom of Napa's current era, working with names like Robert Mondavi and Bill Harlan.Her story is one of success and stunning setbacks, heartbreak and resilience, and of finding the courage to start over – more than once. Today, Robin's winery, Lail Vineyards, produces wines of outstanding deliciousness and distinction. You won't want to miss this captivating episode told my a master storyteller.For more, visit: www.lailvineyards.com

Markus Bokisch has spent his life savoring the best of two worlds. As a kid in Los Angeles, he spent his summers in a small village on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, where his family’s roots run deep. Later, after studying winemaking and viticulture at UC Davis and then working with the vineyard team at Joseph Phelps, Markus and his wife, Liz, set off on an adventure across Spain—living out of a 1967 VW bus and moving from vineyard job to vineyard job. Along the way, they immersed themselves in Spanish wine, culture, and community.Markus wanted to bring the best of Spain to his life in the U.S.—and a big part of that was wine. After living and working throughout the United States, he discovered that the wine region of Lodi, California, most closely reflected the self-reliant culture and sense of work and family they loved in Spain.Today, through Bokisch Vineyards, they champion Spanish varieties grown in California soils. In this episode, we learn about Markus’s favorite varieties, including Xarel·lo, Albariño, Graciano, Macabeo, and, of course, Tempranillo. For more, visit bokischvineyards.com.

Jeff Smith grew up in Napa Valley where his dad, Ned Smith, sold real estate in the 1960s. In the early '70s, Ned moved into the hotel business building Napa's first luxury hotel, Wine Country Inn, and simultaneously planted six acres of grapes. Like many kids who grow up here, a future in the wine industry wasn't Jeff's first dream – his was music. He pursued a successful career centered in the Bay Area, performing with the indie rock group, Noonday Underground.At the age of 26 when his father passed away, Jeff took a hiatus from music to focus on helping his mom back in St. Helena. One thing they had to deal with was his dad's six-acre "hobby vineyard," which needed to be replanted if it was going to survive. His mom wanted to sell the property but Jeff – who knew next to nothing about growing grapes and making wine – proposed that he would oversee replanting to Cabernet and starting a wine label. To which his mom said, you have to choose music or wine. You can't do both. You have be to 200%.Jeff agreed to go the wine route and eventually launched an incredibly success winery called Hourglass.Our hour with Jeff was a fantastic time – hearing behind the scenes stories of Napa from the '60s to today including the wild inside story of launching Hourglass. For more on Jeff and his outstanding wines visit: https://www.hourglasswines.com/

Russ Weis grew up in California's Central Valley surrounded by his family's 200 acres of grapes, a background that would eventually lead him to a career in wine. His story runs through early adventures in France and Japan and then to Christian Brothers – where he started as a tour guide – Robert Mondavi Winery, Opus One, Silverado Vineyards, and today with Walsh Vineyard Management.He's seen every part of the wine business since his arrival in Napa Valley in the early 1980s. Russ and Doug became friends during Russ's long tenure as president of Silverado Vineyards, with the winery located across the road from Shafer Vineyards.We had a great time catching up with Russ and hearing his behind-the-scenes stories of a long and innovative career among some of the most fascinating people and properties in Napa.For more on where Russ is today, visit Walsh Vineyard Management: https://wvmgmt.com/

Kim Stare Wallace tells the audacious story of her father, Dave Stare, a wine-loving MIT graduate, who moved to California in a station wagon. He built a winery and carved out brand new vineyards near Healdsburg, California, in Dry Creek Valley in 1972. Dry Creek Vineyard made a name pioneering both Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc in an era that favored red varieties.Kim grew up helping out on the bottling line, answering the phone, and myriad other glamor-less winery jobs. Initially she couldn't wait to go to college, escape wine country, and pursue a degree in fashion design. Ultimately she didn't fall in love with the garment business. Instead in late 1980s her father talked her into coming back to work at the winery, which is when she feel in love again. This time with the wine business.Kim is a dynamic storyteller and our hour with her felt like 10 minutes, hearing her story and doing a deep dive into the winery, both where it was in the past and where it is today. For more visit: https://www.drycreekvineyard.com/

Robert Fiore's path to winemaking took a remarkable trek through archeology and geophysics. Long before he was tasting grapes in the lead-up to harvest he was poring over data from ground-penetrating radar in the search for petroleum. But it turns out that knowing rocks and soil is a solid foundation for a deep understanding of great vineyards.Today Robert is winemaker at the long-celebrated Peter Michael Winery, producing wines of elegance and grace from diverse vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma.We had a great time hearing Robert's story from passionate wine-lover to world-class winemaker. He even brought rock samples to discuss wine country geology. For more visit: https://petermichaelwinery.com/

In this classic episode, we revisit a memorable 2019 podcast with Tim Mondavi, whose family played such a legendary role in launching and defining Napa Valley's current era. Tim spent more than 30 years working with his father at Robert Mondavi Winery until the family lost control of winery in 2004. Undaunted, he started over with a new winery aptly named Continuum. Today Tim and his extended family are celebrating more than 100 years in the wine industry and he is more passionate than ever about producing world-class wine. Enjoy!For more visit: ContinuumEstate.com

This week's episode is a medley, a grab bag, a breakfast scramble of your questions for Doug -- covering everything from "when should I drink my 2018" to when your wine needs to make some noise to his picks for Napa Valley's unsung heroes. (Also, one of us may have admitted to once using a blender to decant a wine.) We invited our long-time friend, John Skupny, of Lang & Reed to join us for this great, wide-ranging conversation.If this episode inspires you, please send your questions and wine stories to [email protected]. We will definitely record another episode like this one in the future.And, if hearing from John Skupny reminds you that Cabernet Franc is something you need more of in your life, learn more about Land & Reed here: https://langandreed.com/

Heidi Barrett has produced extraordinary wines for clients including Screaming Eagle, Paradigm, Dalle Valle, and many more. One of her Cabernets holds the record as the most ever paid for a single bottle of wine -- $500,000 at Auction Napa Valley. Today she has her own wine brand, La Sirena, and another with her husband, Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena, called Barrett & Barrett.On this classic episode of the podcast first posted in 2018, Heidi takes Doug through one of the most fascinating careers and life stories in the Valley. Enjoy! For more visit: lasirenawine.com or barrettwines.com.

It's harvest here on the West Coast and this week we're letting our winemaking friends focus on picking their grapes.We thought this would be the perfect moment to rerelease a classic 'Taste' episode that we recorded with our friend, the great actor and vintner, Kyle MacLachlan.Since we recorded this episode in October, 2018, Kyle has continued to produce outstanding wines with his Pursued by Bear label -- a winery name he took from an inspired moment in a play by Shakespeare. His acting career has absolutely flourished, he's become a phenomenon on social media, and most recently he launched a podcast of his own, What Are We Even Doing?We loved hearing Kyle's story of falling in love with wine and acting and how the two have intersected over the years. Learn more about Kyle's wines by visiting: www.pursuedbybearwine.com

In the early 1980s, Lee Hudson, still in his 20s, was one of the first to recognize the promise of Los Carneros, Napa Valley's gorgeous southernmost growing region. He came to Napa Valley by way of Texas, where he grew up and fell in love with agriculture. After earning a degree in horticulture he learned the intricacies of grape growing during a stint in Burgundy before studying in the enology Masters program at U.C. Davis. Putting his Texas spirit to work in Carneros, he began growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and soon developed lifelong relationships with era-defining winemakers including John Konsgaard, Dave Ramey, David Graves and Dick Ward from Saintsbury, and more. In 2004 he went from grapegrower to vintner, when he launched Hudson Ranch, making wines that quickly earned a reputation as being among Napa Valley's best.We loved Lee's great storytelling, his commitment to always learning more, and finding ways to perfect his craft. For more, visit: https://hudsonranch.com/

James Hall proved that you actually can go home again when, in 2024, he bought back the winery he'd sold nearly 10 years earlier. We had a great time talking with James, getting the background on a fascinating career and learning more about Patz & Hall winery in Sonoma.He grew up in Santa Cruz, California, where his father was an English professor. On family travels in Europe, James was first introduced to the joys of wine. It was an unforgettable glass of Meursault Charmes that really turned him on to wine, later leading him to study fermentation science at UC Davis in the late 1970s.One of his first winemaking jobs was at Flora Springs, where he struck up a friendship with Donald Patz. They and their wives, Anne Moses and Heather Patz, created a partnership in 1988 that started the Patz & Hall wine brand, focused on exceptional Chardonnays and later Pinot Noirs.In 2016 they sold the winery to Chateau St. Michelle. Then, In 2024, when the winery was positioned to be sold again, James bought back.Learn more about the Patz & Hall story and their fabulous wines at: https://www.patzhall.com/

Jeb Dunnuck's journey to becoming a globally recognized wine critic took an unexpected path, starting in Indiana farmland, where he grew up, then through an early career as an engineer for NASA, working on high-profile projects such as the Kepler Space Telescope.Along the way though, he fell in love with the wines of the Rhône Valley and putting his engineering skills to work built a website and newsletter called The Rhône Report, focused on wines produced from Rhône grape varieties around the world. Within a few years Jeb earned a lot of attention for his work, including the notice of legendary critic Robert Parker, who invited Jeb to come work with him at The Wine Advocate.Today, Jeb heads one of the most successful online sources for wine criticism and reporting at JebDunnuck.com. We had a great time getting to know more about Jeb's story and learn his approach to evaluating hundreds of wine each year.Be sure to check out Jeb's site at JebDunnuck.com and get a glimpse of his work with NASA with the celebrated Kepler's First Light: https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/keplers-first-light/

Judd Finkelstein's earliest memories are all about life at a Napa Valley winery. In the 1970s his parents started Whitehall Lane Winery, later selling and moving across the Valley to launch Judd's Hill Winery. Judd says like so many who grow up here, he had to move away from Napa Valley to truly appreciate it. Initially after college, he worked in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles until feeling like a better life would be one working with his family in the wine business. Back in Napa he combined his love of wine and entertainment becoming beloved for his comedic video series "Judd's Enormous Wine Show" and "Wine Booty" (still available on YouTube) and his many appearances playing the ukulele. After running Judd's Hill since the mid 2000s, two years ago, Judd opened the doors on The Fink, called Napa's neighborhood bar for the world traveler. You can find Judd at this celebrated cocktail bar in character as The Fink, a dapper, welcoming host. We absolutely loved this hour with Judd -- enjoy!Learn more by visiting https://www.juddshill.com/ and https://www.thefinknapa.com/

We first got to know Pat Monahan when he and his Grammy-winning band Train filmed much of the 2012 music video for their hit song "Drive By" at Shafer Vineyards (which has earned more than 200 million views on YouTube). We knew right away that Pat was a wine fan based both on our interactions with him that day and because we learned that he helmed the successful "Save Me San Francisco Wine Company," whose sales raised millions for Family House, a haven for families of critically ill children.In this episode, we get to catch up with Pat and learn a lot more about his background (like how he was painting houses in the Bay Area the first time he heard a Train song on the radio), his current world tour, and his new wine project with podcast friend Dave Phinney.Learn all about Pat's latest wine project at: www.savemesanfranciscowineco.com/

Bobby Stuckey loves creating welcoming, inspired spaces in his restaurants both for customers and employees, seeing hospitality as a mission as much as a career.Bobby’s story starts in Arizona where he grew up “a dyslexic, ADHD kid,” who wasn’t finding success in school. Fortunately he landed a position as a busboy in a local restaurant and soon realized that pouring his energy into that job came with real rewards. The world of restaurants has been his home ever since. Along the way he fell in love with wine and learned the importance of mentorship.Today, after a long, storied career as a wine buyer and sommelier at legendary restaurants including The Little Nell in Aspen, CO, and The French Laundry, in Napa Valley, CA, Bobby’s life is centered in Colorado where his restaurants such as Frasca and Pizzeria Alberico in Boulder and Tavernetta in Denver have earned every top hospitality and service award imaginable. Most recently — just after recording this podcast — Bobby and his team won the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant for Frasca, a restaurant that has already earned a Michelin star and two prior James Beard Awards.It was an absolute pleasure to catch up with Bobby and learn more about this career, life story, and what’s next for this outstanding hospitality leader. Explore Bobby’s restaurants by visiting frascahospitalitygroup.com.You can listen to The Taste on our website at TheTasteWithDougShafer.com or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or Amazon Music.Also, please keep in touch at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

Suzanne Deal Booth is a fairly recently name to Napa Valley in that her first released vintage was 2018 from Bella Oaks winery, a property with a rich legacy. More recently she purchased Wheeler Farms on Zinfandel Lane, just south of St. Helena. Her story, though, begins not in wine but in art restoration and preservation, a passion that has taken her to iconic sites around the world. Today she combines that love for art, history, and wine into her properties and her wines, which are earning great critical response and gaining fans around the world. Learn more at: bellaoaks.com wheelerfarmswine.com

The story of MacDonald Vineyards begins with a deep, foot-dragging, don't-make-me-do-it reluctance to get into the business of grape-growing four generations ago, a historic hand-shake deal with Robert Mondavi, and accidents of history, fate, and weather. Ultimately though, it is the inspired passion and incredible work ethic of two brothers, Alex and Graeme MacDonald. As children they played in this Oakville vineyard that one day they would turn into some of the most celebrated wines in Napa Valley. We loved learning the background of this stellar property -- part of the historic To Kalon Vineyard -- and of the brothers who have overcome every hurdle to produce wines that are some of the best. Learn more by visiting: https://macdonaldvineyards.com/

James Molesworth often finds his way into a wine through anthropology, which was his major in college. As Wine Spectator's lead taster for California (Cabernet and Pinot Noir) and Bordeaux, James talks about the importance of learning the underlying culture of a region and a winery to fully understand a wine. Besides tasting wines in the traditional sense, he spends time in vineyards with producers learning the stories of a vintage, a site, and its people. James has been part of the culture at Wine Spectator for 29 years tasting his way through regions including Chile, South Africa, and New York's Finger Lakes District. In this episode he talks about his evolving approach to tasting and finding ways to express the inexpressible when it comes to reviewing and writing about wines in these top regions.

Chris and Josh Phelps are a father-and-son team who have worked together unofficially for a long time. While Josh was a kid growing up in Napa Valley, Chris was the inaugural winemaker at Dominus before moving on to make wine at Caymus, and then Swanson and Inglenook before starting his own wine brand Ad Vivum Cellars.When Josh got out of college in the mid-2000s he launched Taken wine brand before selling and starting again with the hugely successful Grounded Wine Company. Today Chris and Josh have combined forces to work on Ad Vivum, Grounded, and other projects.As you might guess, a father-and-son winemaking duo resonates with Doug, and we had a terrific time recording this episode. Learn more about these two Napa Valley talents by visiting Ad Vivum and Grounded Wine Co.

Whoever said crime doesn't pay, didn't know John Caldwell. When John bought his 54 acres (and three houses) in the Coombsville area of Napa Valley in the late 1970s, he thought he was getting into the real estate business. But when the County placed a moratorium on development, he had to figure out something else to do with his land and decided to grow grapes and make wine. What came next is one of the wildest stories in the wine industry, involving smuggling and close calls with the law. Today Caldwell is recognized as a pioneer and the changes he brought made a difference Valley-wide in the quality of the wine produced here. Learn more at: CaldwellVineyard.com

Doug Shafer and Chef Tom Colicchio first met in the early 1990s on board a nearly empty cruise in the Baltic Sea in what turned out to be an unforgettable few days. In this episode the two catch up and talk about Tom's new bestselling memoir, "Why I Cook," along with his early years in the New York City restaurant scene, his 22 seasons hosting the Emmy-winning Bravo TV show "Top Chef," his work in food advocacy, raising kids, and everything he's doing today, overseeing restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

Glenn Salva has been at the heart of Antinori Napa Valley since the mid-1980s when the renown wine family, the Antinoris, who'd been making wine in Tuscany for 600, decided to expand into the New World. The story as Glenn tells is filled with challenges and incredible opportunities -- including the moment when they bought their own mining equipment and dug their own wine cave. More than anything, we learn how the Antinori family's century old experience in the wine industry infuses their approach and perspective at every turn. Be sure to learn more at www.AntinoriNapaValley.com - enjoy!

Early in his career Dave Phinney redefined the look and feel of winemaking and marketing in Napa Valley when he created a red blend called The Prisoner. Simultaneously he founded and remains involved with Orin Swift, working in partnership with Gallo. After the sale of his original brands, Dave went on to forge his own path establishing the spirits maker Savage & Cooke and most recently began crafting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the Central Coast under the Our Lady of Guadalupe label.

Growing up in one of Napa Valley’s most celebrated winemaking families, Chelsea brings a wealth of personal knowledge to her professional success. After graduating from UC Davis she gained real-world experience working in wine regions around the world and in wineries of all sizes from large to small. Today she is winemaker at Napa Valley’s Mattera Cunat Family Vineyards and Aviatrix, crafting wines with her mom, winemaker Heidi Barrett. Don’t miss previous podcast episodes with Chelsea’s grandfather Richard Peterson, dad, Bo Barrett, and mom, Heidi Barrett.

Born in Switzerland, Jean Hoefliger worked in vineyards and wineries throughout the world before landing in Napa Valley in 2001 and his first job here at Newton Vineyard. Since then he’s made wine with numerous brands including Alpha Omega Winery and AXR Napa Valley as well as with his long-time friend Michele Roland.

Her journey in wine took Emma Swain from Francis Ford Coppola’s Neibaum-Coppola Estate to wineries owned by Sonoma’s Sebastiani family before taking the reins at Chanel-owned St. Supèry.

Third-generation vintner Violet Grgich tells an incredible family wine story that spans a century that includes a world war, daring escapes, and a years-long journey to Napa Valley. Her grandfather was a winemaker in their small town in Croatia, her father came to Napa and help put the region on the world stage and started a winery, Grgich-Hills Estate, where today Violet is president. Enjoy!

Hugh Davies lives in the same house he grew up in at Schramsberg Winery here in Napa Valley and, in a case of history repeating itself, it’s where he and his wife are raising their own family and making world-class wines. Hugh does a great job of weaving together 150 years of stories about family and winemaking on Diamond Mountain. Enjoy!

In 1975 John Williams arrived in Napa Valley with a return bus ticket and $40 in his pocket. He fell in love with wine and never used that return ticket – instead launching Frog’s Leap Winery. Today John and his son Rory (who also owns Calder Wine Co.) are running Frog’s Leap together and on the podcast, they discuss the joys and challenges of family business.

John Kongsgaard grew up in Napa Valley, where his father was a beloved local judge. John says their father-son relationship was tested during the stresses of the Vietnam War and the road to healing that rift culminated in the creation of Kongsgaard’s most celebrated wine, The Judge. Today John works with his son, Alex, to keep growing beautiful fruit and making outstanding wines. Enjoy! For more visit: https://kongsgaardwine.com/

Delia Viader came to the wine business in Napa Valley in the 1980s after living in Argentina, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France and earning degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris and MIT in Boston. Her son Alan grew up on the winery property, learning vineyard and cellar work at a young age. Today this duo runs Viader Vineyards & Winery, one of Napa Valley’s best. Enjoy! For more visit: https://viader.com/

Adam Lee comes from a family of devout Texas teetotalers. In college, however, Adam not only tasted his first wine, he became passionate about it. He and then-wife Diane Novy moved to California and founded Siduri, making outstanding Pinot Noirs from vineyards site that ranged from Santa Barbara to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. After selling Siduri, Adam has gone on to start several exciting new wine projects. Enjoy! For more visit: https://claricewinecompany.com/

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: https://donaldpatzwinegroup.com/

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

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: https://www.opusonewinery.com/