The Taste with Doug Shafer – a Podcast About Wine, Food, and Friends
Episodes
The Future of Wine Sales Is Already Here | Blake Van Treese
02 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
Greg Cole Changed the Napa Food History with Celadon and Cole's Chop House
19 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 che...
Juggling Wine, Beer, and Coffee with Nile Zacherle of Mad Fritz and David Arthur
05 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
How Eric LeVine, founder of CellarTracker, Created the World's Biggest Wine Community
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Where wine, community, and technology converge, you'll find the phenomenon of CellarTracker and its founder Eric LeVine.The numbers are staggering: 1....
What Robert Foley Learned From Napa's Legendary Winemakers
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 cl...
A Classic Episode with Paula Kornell — Fourth Gen Vintner with a Family Story Spanning Two Continents, One War, and More than 60 Years
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 wine...
A Classic Episode with Robin Lail - A Fourth Generation Vintner with a 150-Year Family Legacy
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this classic episode, Robin Lail of Lail Vineyards takes us on an unbelievable family journey through nearly all of Napa Valley's winemaking histor...
A Spanish Adventure with Winemaker Markus Bokisch
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 Medit...
Jeff Smith - Growing up in Napa Valley, a Rock-n-Roll Career, and His Winery, Hourglass
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 buildi...
Russ Weis - A Career through Mondavi, Opus One, Silverado Vineyards, and Walsh Vineyard Management
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 care...
Kim Stare Wallace, Vintner of Celebrated Dry Creek Vineyard
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 buil...
Robert Fiore, Winemaker, Peter Michael Winery
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 harves...
A Classic Episode with Virtuoso Vintner Tim Mondavi
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this classic episode, we revisit a memorable 2019 podcast with Tim Mondavi, whose family played such a legendary role in launching and defining Nap...
This Week's Guest is You -- Answering Your Listener Questions
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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"...
A Classic Episode with winemaker Heidi Barrett
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heidi Barrett has produced extraordinary wines for clients including Screaming Eagle, Paradigm, Dalle Valle, and many more. One of her Cabernets holds...
Kyle MacLachlan - A Classic 'Taste' Episode With Our Favorite Actor/Vintner
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 perf...
Lee Hudson, Legendary Grapegrower and Vintner, Hudson Vineyards
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 g...
James Hall, Vintner, Patz & Hall
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Jebb Dunnuck - Wine Critic
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jeb Dunnuck's journey to becoming a globally recognized wine critic took an unexpected path, starting in Indiana farmland, where he grew up, then thro...
Judd Finkelstein -- 2nd Generation Vintner and Cocktail Impresario
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Pat Monahan - Rock Star/Vintner
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Bobby Stuckey on continuing to redefine hospitality
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bobby Stuckey loves creating welcoming, inspired spaces in his restaurants both for customers and employees, seeing hospitality as a mission as much a...
Suzanne Deal Booth -- Bella Oaks and Wheeler Farms in Napa Valley
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Alex and Graeme MacDonald - MacDonald Vineyards
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 gene...
James Molesworth - Wine Spectator's Bordeaux and California (Cabernet and Pinor Noir) Senior Editor
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Chris and Josh Phelps - A Father-and-Son Napa Valley Duo
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
John Caldwell - Caldwell Vineyard
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Tom Colicchio – Chef, Restaurateur, and Food Advocate
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 unforgett...
Glenn Salva - Antinori Napa Valley
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Tu...
Dave Phinney
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Prisone...
Chelsea Barrett
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in one of Napa Valley’s most celebrated winemaking families, Chelsea brings a wealth of personal knowledge to her professional success. A...
Jean Hoefliger
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Emma Swain
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Her journey in wine took Emma Swain from Francis Ford Coppola’s Neibaum-Coppola Estate to wineries owned by Sonoma’s Sebastiani family before taki...
Violet Grgich
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Third-generation vintner Violet Grgich tells an incredible family wine story that spans a century that includes a world war, daring escapes, and a yea...
Hugh Davies
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
Hugh Davies
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
Hugh Davies
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
John and Rory Williams
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 tick...
John and Rory Williams
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 tick...
John and Rory Williams
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 tick...
John Kongsgaard
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 stre...
John Kongsgaard
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 stre...
John Kongsgaard
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 stre...
Alan and Delia Viader
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Delia Viader came to the wine business in Napa Valley in the 1980s after living in Argentina, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France and earning degrees fro...
Alan and Delia Viader
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Delia Viader came to the wine business in Napa Valley in the 1980s after living in Argentina, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France and earning degrees fro...
Alan and Delia Viader
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Delia Viader came to the wine business in Napa Valley in the 1980s after living in Argentina, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France and earning degrees fro...
Adam Lee
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Adam Lee
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Adam Lee
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Donald Patz
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 1...
Donald Patz
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 1...
Donald Patz
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 1...
Elizabeth Vianna
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 pian...
Elizabeth Vianna
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 pian...
Elizabeth Vianna
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 pian...
Michael Silacci
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While Michael Silacci grew up near the vineyards of Gilroy, California, it took years of travel through Hawaii, Japan, Switzerland, and eventually Fra...
Michael Silacci
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While Michael Silacci grew up near the vineyards of Gilroy, California, it took years of travel through Hawaii, Japan, Switzerland, and eventually Fra...
Michael Silacci
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While Michael Silacci grew up near the vineyards of Gilroy, California, it took years of travel through Hawaii, Japan, Switzerland, and eventually Fra...
Jay McInerney
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jay McInerney burst onto the literary scene in 1984 with Bright Lights, Big City, his novel based on an era both in his life and the life of New York ...
Jay McInerney
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jay McInerney burst onto the literary scene in 1984 with Bright Lights, Big City, his novel based on an era both in his life and the life of New York ...
Jay McInerney
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jay McInerney burst onto the literary scene in 1984 with Bright Lights, Big City, his novel based on an era both in his life and the life of New York ...
Listener Questions with Spencer Christian
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode the guest is you! We invited listeners to send in questions about wine collecting, winemaking, or all things Shafer – and you came t...
Listener Questions with Spencer Christian
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode the guest is you! We invited listeners to send in questions about wine collecting, winemaking, or all things Shafer – and you came t...
Listener Questions with Spencer Christian
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode the guest is you! We invited listeners to send in questions about wine collecting, winemaking, or all things Shafer – and you came t...
Charles Woodson
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Later in 2021, Charles Woodson will accept a Pro Football Hall of Fame award in Canton, Ohio, just 100 miles from where he grew up in the small town o...
Charles Woodson
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Later in 2021, Charles Woodson will accept a Pro Football Hall of Fame award in Canton, Ohio, just 100 miles from where he grew up in the small town o...
Charles Woodson
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Later in 2021, Charles Woodson will accept a Pro Football Hall of Fame award in Canton, Ohio, just 100 miles from where he grew up in the small town o...
Tor Kenward
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Early in college Tor Kenward was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Coming home he realized that life is short and he only wanted to do things that brought ...
Tor Kenward
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Early in college Tor Kenward was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Coming home he realized that life is short and he only wanted to do things that brought ...
Tor Kenward
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Early in college Tor Kenward was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Coming home he realized that life is short and he only wanted to do things that brought ...
Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dalla Valle, long known for elegant and outstanding wines, is opening an exciting new chapter. Originally founded by Gustav and Naoko Dalla Valle in 1...
Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dalla Valle, long known for elegant and outstanding wines, is opening an exciting new chapter. Originally founded by Gustav and Naoko Dalla Valle in 1...
Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dalla Valle, long known for elegant and outstanding wines, is opening an exciting new chapter. Originally founded by Gustav and Naoko Dalla Valle in 1...
Cyril Chappellet
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1967 the Chappellet family built the second post-Prohibition winery in Napa Valley. Cyril was in elementary school then and mostly what he recalls ...
Cyril Chappellet
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1967 the Chappellet family built the second post-Prohibition winery in Napa Valley. Cyril was in elementary school then and mostly what he recalls ...
Cyril Chappellet
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1967 the Chappellet family built the second post-Prohibition winery in Napa Valley. Cyril was in elementary school then and mostly what he recalls ...
Tom Matthews
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the age of 35 Thomas Matthews had lived in several U.S. states and abroad in Belgium, France, and Spain. He didn’t see himself staying anywhere f...
Tom Matthews
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the age of 35 Thomas Matthews had lived in several U.S. states and abroad in Belgium, France, and Spain. He didn’t see himself staying anywhere f...
Tom Matthews
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the age of 35 Thomas Matthews had lived in several U.S. states and abroad in Belgium, France, and Spain. He didn’t see himself staying anywhere f...
Jaime Araujo
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the time her parents started Araujo Estate in 1990, Jaime Araujo was in college. She went on to earn four degrees, was a theater actress in London,...
Jaime Araujo
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the time her parents started Araujo Estate in 1990, Jaime Araujo was in college. She went on to earn four degrees, was a theater actress in London,...
Jaime Araujo
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the time her parents started Araujo Estate in 1990, Jaime Araujo was in college. She went on to earn four degrees, was a theater actress in London,...
Oscar Renteria
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar Renteria grew up in Napa and wanted to escape the wine industry so he went to college and earned a business degree. After graduation his father ...
Oscar Renteria
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar Renteria grew up in Napa and wanted to escape the wine industry so he went to college and earned a business degree. After graduation his father ...
Oscar Renteria
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar Renteria grew up in Napa and wanted to escape the wine industry so he went to college and earned a business degree. After graduation his father ...
Tom Rinaldi
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Rinaldi grew up in San Francisco, enjoyed the Summer of Love, and tasted wine in Napa Valley on his motorcycle. Later he signed up for the Navy be...
Tom Rinaldi
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Rinaldi grew up in San Francisco, enjoyed the Summer of Love, and tasted wine in Napa Valley on his motorcycle. Later he signed up for the Navy be...
Tom Rinaldi
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Rinaldi grew up in San Francisco, enjoyed the Summer of Love, and tasted wine in Napa Valley on his motorcycle. Later he signed up for the Navy be...
Andy Erickson
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In his 20s Andy Erickson thought he’d work in the diplomatic corps but an extended trek through South America’s wine country and a chance encounte...
Andy Erickson
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In his 20s Andy Erickson thought he’d work in the diplomatic corps but an extended trek through South America’s wine country and a chance encounte...
Andy Erickson
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In his 20s Andy Erickson thought he’d work in the diplomatic corps but an extended trek through South America’s wine country and a chance encounte...
Robert Kamen
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Kamen has written the screenplays for blockbusters including Taps, the original Karate Kid films, Fifth Element, Gladiator, Lethal Weapon 3, th...
Robert Kamen
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Kamen has written the screenplays for blockbusters including Taps, the original Karate Kid films, Fifth Element, Gladiator, Lethal Weapon 3, th...
Robert Kamen
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Kamen has written the screenplays for blockbusters including Taps, the original Karate Kid films, Fifth Element, Gladiator, Lethal Weapon 3, th...
Kim McPherson
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Though Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars grew up surrounded by wine history-in-the-making, it wasn’t obvious that vineyards and cellars were in his...
Kim McPherson
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Though Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars grew up surrounded by wine history-in-the-making, it wasn’t obvious that vineyards and cellars were in his...
Kim McPherson
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Though Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars grew up surrounded by wine history-in-the-making, it wasn’t obvious that vineyards and cellars were in his...
Mark Beringer
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In spite of his last name, Mark Beringer’s future in wine was not a foregone conclusion. His family had sold Beringer in 1971. When he graduated fro...
Mark Beringer
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In spite of his last name, Mark Beringer’s future in wine was not a foregone conclusion. His family had sold Beringer in 1971. When he graduated fro...
Mark Beringer
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In spite of his last name, Mark Beringer’s future in wine was not a foregone conclusion. His family had sold Beringer in 1971. When he graduated fro...