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 info@thetastewithdougshafer.com. 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 (http://lasirenawine.com/) or barrettwines.com (http://www.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 (https://www.frascahospitalitygroup.com/).You can listen to The Taste on our website at TheTasteWithDougShafer.com (https://www.thetastewithdougshafer.com)or on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1oOXA3LKDiRT7uukCeP5CP), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-taste-with-doug-shafer-stories-of-winemakers-and-wine/id1373797694), iHeartRadio (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-the-taste-with-doug-shafer-31086092/), or Amazon Music (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bb596e4c-ca50-4fc2-b993-b21082decd07).Also, please keep in touch at info@TheTasteWithDougShafer.com (mailto:info@thetastewithdougshafer.com?subject=&body=). 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 (https://www.advivumcellars.com/) and Grounded Wine Co (https://www.groundedwineco.com/).

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 Materra 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.Visit St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery (https://www.stsupery.com/)