Unique Experiences

Item Description

The setting is the gorgeous hillside winery of Shafer Family Vineyards where hawks and clouds collide.  Libby Shafer will kick off your VIP tour and tasting for four by giving you a short history of the family winery and their philosophy in making artisanal wines.

Your appetites will be awakened by this experience and so down the hill you go to the beautiful Brix Restaurant. Weather permitting, the four of you will dine amidst their bountiful gardens.  The final and perfect touch is the stunning view of Napa Valley's Western Hills. "A Perfect Pairing".

The People Behind the Wine

John Shafer
It was the lure of wine country farming that inspired John Shafer in 1972 to make a career change, leaving behind 23 years of corporate experience to begin work in a new field. And in the fields, or rather the vineyards, is exactly where John began his new career. Adopting a hands-on approach from day one, John could be seen throughout the mid-70s riding on his tractor as he tilled the soil of his family's new estate in the foothills of the Stags Leap Palisades.

It was during this period that he, along with his son Doug, learned the intricacies of hillside grapegrowing as they toiled many long hours terracing the hillsides, replanting and expanding the vineyards. With each passing year, they learned more about the nature of grapegrowing in the Stags Leap District, one of the world's best regions for the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon. What began for John as a career in viticulture, quickly expanded into full-scale winemaking. In 1978, the first Shafer wine was made and a year later construction began on the family winery. The debut wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, was released in 1981 to a chorus of high praise and awards, including a first place in the San Francisco Vintners Club Cabernet taste-off. Over fifteen years later, this wine continues to prove its remarkable ageability, winning first place in a 1993 German blind tasting against first growth Bordeaux wines.

Item Special Note

Tasting, tour and lunch is available at any time before April 3, 2013.  Restrictions for personalized introduction apply per Libby Shafer's schedule.  All pertinent information will be included on Gift Certificate.