Shafer "Owner\'s Manuals" are handed out during tastings at the winery. The piece won international gold at a design competition.

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SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Winemaking at Shafer
The Shafer approach to vineyard cultivation and winemaking
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can be summed up in the title of the old Stephen Stills song,
“Love the one you’re with.”
When we started making wine in the late 1970s, none of us
had the opportunity to visit other great viticultural regions of
the world and learn how wine was made in, say, Bordeaux,
Chianti, or Southern Australia. The team of John Shafer,
Doug Shafer, and Elias Fernandez was completely absorbed
(they might say “overwhelmed”) in learning how to grow fruit
and make wine from our little plot of earth in Napa Valley.
Shafer Vineyards, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Winery Profile
By the late 1980s after more than a decade focused solely on
this site, we knew our soils, our climate, and our fruit and had
developed approaches to making the best tasting wine that our Annual production: 32,000 cases
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vineyards could deliver.
Varietals produced: Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon
Thanks to our warm, moderate climate — with abundant sun-
Ownership: Fully owned and operated by the Shafer family
light during midday, chilly evenings, and foggy early morn-
ings — our vineyards yield fruit that offers concentrated, lush Chairman: John Shafer
aromas and flavors. Our love-the-one-you’re-with approach
President: Doug Shafer
means that we let our vineyards speak for themselves and don’t
attempt to alter our boldly flavored California fruit so that it Winemaker: Elias Fernandez
parrots the style of another region.
Date winery estate purchased by Shafer family: 1972
The resulting wines reflect the consistency found on these sin-
Vintage of first wine produced: 1978
gular vineyard sites — clean, rich, long aromas and flavors.
Over the decades we find that these wines mature beautifully, Location of winery estate: Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
eventually giving up those rambunctious flavors of youth for
Total vineyard acreage: 205
the smoky elegance and layered flavors of age.

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Shafer History Timeline 1981 On the Monday following the first Wine Auction a huge wildfire sweeps
through Napa Valley’s dry eastern hills. John’s home narrowly escapes
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1880s Napa Valley pioneers Jacob Ohl and C. H. Linderman plant vineyards on destruction and afterward he plants a vineyard around the house, naming
future Shafer estate. it “Firebreak.”
1922 Italian immigrant Batista Scansi re-plants during 1982 Shafer clears three acres of Zinfindel and buds over to Merlot.
Prohibition and sells fruit to home winemakers.
1983 Doug joins the winery as winemaker. When he tastes
1972 Shafer family purchases 209-acre property including the 1982 lot from the Sunspot vineyard block he’s
30 acres of Scansi’s vineyards. so impressed he talks John into keeping it separate
from the others. With the Sunspot lot Doug creates
1973- John Shafer plants Cabernet Sauvignon, creating small hillside vineyard
Shafer’s one and only Reserve Cabernet.
1974 blocks such as Sunspot and John’s Folly.
1984 Doug says the Reserve deserves a better name and creates the first Hillside
1977 John decides to start a winery and makes his first foray into winemaking
Select with the 1983 vintage.
with a batch of homemade Zinfandel from 50-year-old vines.
Elias Fernandez is hired as assistant winemaker three
1978 John makes his first Shafer Vineyards wine —
weeks prior to his graduation from U.C. Davis.
a precursor to Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon —
with fruit from John’s Folly. 1985 The hit TV show Falcon Crest turns a knoll near the
winery into a cemetery and “buries” John’s favorite
1979 A bitterly cold January keeps Shafer’s first Cabernet
World War II pin-up girl Lana Turner. John names the
from going through malolactic fermentation. John
site “La Vigna Lana.”
finds the warmth the wine needs when he wraps the barrels in electric
blankets. Shafer releases its first Merlot, a 1983 vintage.
1981 Shafer’s 1978 Cabernet is released and makes its debut at the first Napa Shafer releases the fifth and final Zinfandel, a 1983 vintage, which is
Valley Wine Auction. dubbed “Last Chance.”

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
1985 John leads an effort to petition the government to designate Stags Leap 1998 John brings new puppy Tucker to the office, where he
District an American Viticultural Area (AVA). joins John’s phone conversations and eats the mail.
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1988 Shafer purchases 70-acre Red Shoulder Ranch in Carneros. 1999 John chairs the Napa Valley Wine Auction, raising a
record-breaking $5.5 million.
Shafer takes first steps toward sustainable
2002 First release of Relentless, 1999 vintage, named to honor Elias’ relentless
agriculture, planting cover crops and erecting hawk
perches and owl nesting boxes (to encourage these pursuit of wine quality.
raptors to lower the gopher population) in Stags Leap
Elias is named “Winemaker of the Year” by two prestigious publications:
District and Carneros vineyards.
Quarterly Review of Wines and Food & Wine magazine. He is also honored
1989 Stags Leap District is approved as an AVA. at the White House as a Hispanic role model.
1991 Shafer digs an 8,000 sq. ft. wine cave. Shafer’s hillside vineyards are named among the Top 25 Vineyards in the
World by Wine & Spirits magazine.
1993 Shafer releases its first proprietary red wine, Firebreak, a
2003 Shafer is dubbed “one of the world’s greatest wineries” by wine critic
1991 vintage blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet.
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Shafer’s “electric blanket” vintage, the 1978 Cabernet,
wins an international competition in Germany, outranking Shafer’s barrel lot of 2001 Hillside Select takes the top spot at the Napa
such wines as Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour. Valley Wine Auction.
1994 Doug is named winery president, Elias is named winemaker, and John takes Shafer barrels move into a new state-of-the-art barrel room.
the role of chairman.
2004 Shafer celebrates 25 years of winemaking.
1995 Shafer’s first Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, 1994 vintage, is released.
To celebrate 25 years and to honor John Shafer, Shafer
The vineyard hawks are happy and well-fed.
Vineyards releases a one-time bottling of 2001 Shafer 25th
Sunspot Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 25 barrels made from
25-year-old Sunspot vines.

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
The Shafer Team
2004 Shafer’s barrel lot of 2002 Hillside Select takes the
top spot at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. John Shafer, Chairman
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Shafer constructs a 128-kW solar array and becomes The lure of wine country farming in-
the first winery in Napa and Sonoma to generate spired John Shafer in 1972 to make a
100 percent of its power needs with solar energy. career change, leaving behind 23 years
of corporate experience to begin work
2005 An extensive winery renovation and expansion project begins. Employees
in a new field. And in the fields, or
and guests are greeted daily with new configurations of mud, orange safety
rather the vineyards, is exactly where
cones, piles of stone, and construction equipment.
he began his new career. John could be
seen throughout the mid-70s riding on
2006 The final release of Shafer’s Sangiovese is dubbed “Last Chance Firebreak”
his tractor as he tilled and terraced the soil of his family’s new
harkening back to the “Last Chance Zinfandel” 21 years previous.
estate in the foothills of the Stags Leap Palisades.
2007 Shafer releases first vintage of One Point Five Stags Leap District Cabernet
What began as a career in grape growing quickly expanded
Sauvignon. The name plays off “a generation and a half,” a term Doug and
into full-scale winemaking. In 1978, John made the winery’s
John created to describe their long-time working relationship.
first Cabernet Sauvignon and a year later construction began
Shafer’s barrel lot of 2005 Hillside Select takes the top spot at the Napa on the family winery. The debut wine was released in 1981 to
Valley Wine Auction, breaking the $100,000 mark. high praise, including a first place in the San Francisco Vint-
ners Club Cabernet taste-off. More than fifteen years later, this
The winery’s renovation project is completed,
wine continues to prove its remarkable ageability, winning first
offering a new tasting area and an inviting new look.
place in a 1993 German blind tasting against first growth Bor-
deaux wines.
2008 Doug Shafer brings Tanner to the winery, an amiable
Golden Retriever who chews on desk legs and races
In 1984 John lead a group of neighboring vintners to peti-
up and down the hallway.
tion the government to designate Stags Leap as an American
Viticultural Area (AVA). In 1989 the group was successful and
Shafer builds new 100kW solar array to power water reclamation pond and
Stags Leap District was officially created.
irrigation system for Hillside Estate Vineyards.

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
In 1994, John moved from the position of president to chair- During his ten years as winemaker, Doug created Hillside Se-
man of the board. In his new position, he focuses on long- lect and forged the trademark Shafer style of quality, consis-
range strategic planning and export sales. tency, and elegance. Vintage by vintage, he learned to highlight
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the natural character of the grapes from his family’s hillside
vineyards, crafting wines that reflect the Stags Leap District
Doug Shafer, President
character of rich fruit and soft tannins. During this period he
Doug Shafer arrived in the Napa Valley also managed the estate vineyards and developed a new vine-
at age 17 when he moved with his fam- yard in the Carneros district.
ily from the Chicago suburbs to a new
In the late 1980s, Doug launched the winery in the direction
home in the foothills of the Stags Leap
of sustainable agriculture. Today the vineyards are cultivated
Palisades.
without the use of chemical fertilizers or insecticides and the
Throughout his junior and senior years winery distinguished itself as the first in the region to flip the
of high school he spent long hours help- switch to 100 percent solar power.
ing his father replant and then clear land for new vineyards.
In 1994, Doug took over the reins as president when his father
His satisfaction working in the vineyards inspired him to en-
John became chairman of the board. As president, Doug over-
roll in the enology and viticulture program at the University
sees the daily operations of the winery and vineyards as well
of California at Davis.
as sales and marketing. He maintains a hands-on approach,
While completing his university studies, Doug spent summers working closely with his father and winemaker Elias Fernan-
working with his father in the vineyards and at Hanns Kornell dez to ensure both the quality of the wines and the future of
and Robert Mondavi wineries. Meanwhile, his father was pre- Shafer Vineyards.
paring to crush the first vintage of wine in 1978. Following
Long-term, Doug is committed to preserving Shafer as a small
graduation, Doug honed his skills as assistant winemaker at
family winery dedicated to the production of world-class wines
Lakespring Winery prior to becoming winemaker at Shafer in
from the estate vineyards.
1983.

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Three weeks before graduation, in 1984, he was hired as as-
Elias Fernandez, Winemaker
sistant winemaker at Shafer Vineyards working with Doug
Elias Fernandez knows Napa Valley
Shafer. The winery was then just five years old. Those first ten
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vineyards from the roots up, having
years were some of the toughest of his career, learning often by
first-hand experience of what it’s like
trial and error the intricacies of growing grapes, making wine,
to work in summer heat among dusty
and operating a cellar.
vine rows as well as how tough it is to
For several years Elias shared co-winemaker duties with Doug
prune vines in the freezing winter pre-
Shafer. Then in 1994 Doug became winery president and Elias
dawn light.
took on the winemaker title with all of its duties.
Both his parents were farmworkers who
In 2002 both Quarterly Review of Wines and Food & Wine
worked in local orchards and vineyards. In junior high, Elias
magazine named Elias “Winemaker of the Year.” Shafer Vine-
started working with his father, who taught him to drive trac-
yards was selected as one of the “25 Great Vineyards in the
tors and train and prune grapevines. From both parents he
World” by Wine & Spirits magazine.
learned the value of hard work and self-reliance.
On October 2, 2002 he accepted a prestigious “Hall of Fame”
With his mother’s encouragement Elias played trumpet from
award from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund in Washington
an early age and distinguished himself to such a degree that he
D.C. and attended a White House reception hosted by Presi-
received a Fulbright music scholarship to attend the Jazz pro-
dent George W. Bush.
gram at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the first person
in his family to attend college.
After a year in Reno Elias says something just “clicked” and
he felt an tug to return to his agricultural roots. In 1981 he
enrolled at University of California, Davis to study enology,
the science of winemaking.

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OV E R V IE W SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Vineyard Locations Shafer Vineyards Wines
From a modest beginning of 1,000 cases in 1978, Shafer Vine-
BORDERLINE
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Size: 25 acres yards has grown slowly until reaching its present size of 32,000
Location: Stags Leap District cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Syrah.
Variety planted: Cabernet
Today Shafer wines are available in major markets nationwide
Sauvignon
and in top restaurants and hotels internationally.
LA MESA “… one of the world’s greatest wineries. — Robert M. Parker, Jr.
”
HILLSIDE ESTATE VINEYARDS
Size: 18 acres
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Size: 54 acres
Location: Napa Valley
Location: Stags Leap District
Varieties planted: Syrah, Petite Sirah
Variety planted: Cabernet Sauvignon
RIDGEBACK & SCHOOL BUS
RED SHOULDER RANCH Size: 42 acres
Size: 66 acres Location: Napa Valley
Location: Los Carneros Varieties planted: Cabernet
Variety planted: Chardonnay Sauvignon and Merlot

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Red Shoulder Ranch® Chardonnay Tasting Notes
Carneros Chardonnay
Shafer’s Red Shoulder Ranch vineyard lies within sight of the
northern rim of San Francisco Bay. The marine-influenced
climate in Napa Valley’s southernmost growing area, Carne-
ros, offers a long, cool growing season that’s ideal for develop-
ing Chardonnay’s spectrum of floral and tropical aromas and
flavors as well as its natural acidity.
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The cellar team takes a largely hands-off approach for produc-
ing this wine. We use only the yeast that thrives naturally in
the vineyard for fermentation and, in order to enjoy the va-
riety’s true acidity, we do not put the wine through malolac-
tic fermentation. Instead we ferment the wine in individual
barrels (80 percent oak, 20 percent stain-
less steel) and we stir the lees once a week
during its 14 months of aging to give the
wine a creamy mouthfeel.

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Merlot Tasting Notes
Napa Valley Merlot
While this wine is officially designated with the Napa Val-
ley appellation, its fruit is sourced from within just a three
mile radius in the Valley’s cooler southern end. Much of the
fruit for our Merlot comes from a hilly Shafer-owned vineyard
we’ve informally dubbed “School Bus, located about a quarter
”
mile due south of Stags Leap District. The remainder is culti-
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vated within Stags Leap District by growers we’ve worked with
closely for years.
Since first planting this variety in 1981 we’ve learned that
Merlot is a finicky grape — a bit too much rain or a touch of
frost early in the season can easily result in less than ideal fruit.
Years of experience have taught us to tend
these vines with care. Early on each season
our vineyard team culls any less developed
fruit, leaving only the best-of-the-best on
the vine. This ensures that the wine ex-
hibits lush, ripe, mouth-filling flavors
that are true to varietal character.

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
One Point Five® Tasting Notes
Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
Only a handful of Cabernet Sauvignons in the world are des-
ignated as Stags Leap District wines thanks to the appellation’s
small size. It takes only four minutes to drive the length of the
District, passing through its 1,300 planted acres.
Since the early 1980s Shafer has produced two Cabernets from
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Stags Leap District, and One Point Five continues that tra-
dition. The fruit is predominantly sourced from the Hillside
Estate Vineyards surrounding the winery as well as a 25-acre
Shafer-owned vineyard located two miles south of the winery
called “Borderline,” which sits inside the border of Stags Leap
District.
The name One Point Five is meant to
convey the importance of the family part-
nership at the core of Shafer Vineyards.
A familiar family business story is the
second-generation tale, where a parent
hands an established enterprise over to
a son or daughter. Here though, John
and Doug Shafer have worked to-
gether for so long, they describe their
partnership as a-generation-and-a-half,
from which we coined the name One
Point Five.

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Relentless® Tasting Notes
Napa Valley Syrah/Petite Sirah
Relentless is born on a remote ridgetop vineyard in the south-
ern foothills of Napa Valley’s Vaca Mountain range. The wine
is a field blend of 80 percent Syrah and 20 percent Petite Sirah,
which means that these two grape varietals grow side by side,
and are picked and crushed together.
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In the first vintages of this wine the Petite Sirah dominated
with its purple-midnight color and solid black-fruit, smoke,
and black pepper flavors. In the more recent vintages the
Syrah has moved into the forefront with its flavors of spice and
meatiness, bringing a touch of elegance to this otherwise bold,
flamboyant wine.
The wine is named to honor long-time
Shafer Winemaker Elias Fernandez and
his relentless pursuit of quality in the
vineyard and cellar.

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Hillside Select® Tasting Notes
Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
Shafer’s signature wine, Hillside Select, is sourced from the
slopes of an amphitheater-like structure of thin soil and rock,
where thanks to a series of knolls and outcroppings some vine-
yard blocks receive southeastern sunlight, while others receive
southern or western exposures.
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Each afternoon cool breezes from San Francisco Bay (located
about 18 miles to the south) channel into our box canyon. The
consistent see-saw of daytime heat and evening chill retains
acidity within deeply ripened fruit, resulting in a wine of ex-
quisite balance.
Meanwhile, the rock-choked site offers lit-
tle more than 18 to 22 inches of volcanic
soil before meeting weathered bedrock
below. With the hillside’s quick run-
off and the lack of plant nutrients, the
struggling vines produce less than half
the fruit tonnage per acre as a typi-
cal Napa Valley vineyard. The clusters
are small, made up of blueberry-sized
grapes that when crushed offer rich
flavor, soft texture, and smooth, el-
egant tannins.

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay Merlot Production Notes
Production Notes
Shafer grows its own Merlot fruit at a vineyard called “School Bus” and purchases the
remainder from Stags Leap District growers we’ve partnered with for years.
Our only white wine is sourced from a single Shafer-owned vineyard that lies within sight of
the northernmost reach of San Francisco Bay.
Appellation: Napa Valley (located near the southern boundary of Stags Leap
District in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains)
Appellation: Los Carneros, Napa Valley
Acres: 11
Acres: 68
Grape Variety: Merlot
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
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GPS Location: 38º22’27.65”N, 122 º18’02.95”W
GPS Location: 38º14’44.92”N, 122 º21’14.36”W
Elevation: 68 to 130 ft
Elevation: 126 to 243 ft
Soil Type: Silty loam
Soil Type: Diablo clay and silty clay
Soil Depth: 29 - 56 inches
Soil Depth: 16 - 30 inches
Varietal The blend changes somewhat each vintage. Typically 80 to 85%
Varietal 100% Chardonnay
Composition: Merlot with 15 to 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Composition:
Brix at Harvest: 24.0° - 25.5°
Brix at Harvest: 24.0° - 25.0°
Cooperage: 20 months in French oak barrels (60% new)
Cooperage: 14 months in 50% new oak: 80% French (Allier, Vosge),
20% American oak (Missouri)
Bottle: 7 months in the bottle prior to release
Fermentation Fermented in the barrel with wild yeast. Barrels are 80% oak,
Case Production: Approximately 9,000 - 10,000
20% stainless steel. 0% malolactic fermentation
Bottle: 3 months in the bottle prior to release
Case Production: Approximately 5,000 - 6,500

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon
Production Notes
One Point Five is sourced predominantly from two Stags Leap District vineyards: our Hillside
Soil Depth: 3 to 4 feet
Estate Vineyard and the Borderline Vineyard, which Shafer also owns, located about two
miles south of the winery. Varietal 98-99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1-2% Petite Verdot
Composition:
Hillside Estate Vineyard Stats
Brix at Harvest: 24.0° - 25.5°
Appellation: Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Cooperage: 20 months in 75% new French oak (Allier & Tronçais)
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Acres: 54
Bottle: 11 months in the bottle prior to release
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Case Production: Approximately 9,500 - 10,000
GPS Location: 38º25’13.52”N, 122 º19’31.28”W
Elevation: 185 to 510 ft
Soil Type: Volcanic
Soil Depth: 18 - 22 inches
Borderline Vineyard Stats
Appellation: Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Acres: 25
GPS Location: 38º22’58.69”N, 122 º18’35.36”W
Elevation: 64 - 80 ft
Soil Type: Loam
Borderline Vineyard, Stags Leap District

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OUR WINE S SH AFE R OWNE R ’S MANUAL
Relentless Production Notes Hillside Select Production Notes
Relentless is a field blend of the noble grape Syrah and its more rustic cousin Petite Sirah. Hillside Select is a wine of a place, sourced solely from the Cabernet Sauvignon planted on
This combination creates a wine that’s powerful and rich with a lasting finish. the arid, rocky slopes that surround the winery.
Appellation: Appellation:
Napa Valley (located less than 100 feet from the southern bound- Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
ary of Stags Leap District in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains)
Acres: 54
Acres: 30
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Grape Variety: Syrah, Petite Sirah
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GPS Location: 38°25’13.52”N, 122°19’31.28”W
GPS Location: 38 º22’59.19N, 122 º17’59.01W
Elevation: 185 to 510 ft
Elevation: 355 - 420 ft
Soil type: Volcanic
Soil Type: Gravelly clay loam
Soil depth: 18 - 22 inches
Soil Depth: 18 - 29 inches
Fruit Selection: The Hillside Estate Vineyard is comprised of 14 vineyard blocks that
Varietal 80-85% Syrah, 15-20% Petite Sirah receive varying degrees of sun exposures throughout the year as
Composition: well as differing exposure to fog and radiant heat from the tower-
ing, granite palisades that serve as a backdrop to our property.
Brix at Harvest: 24.0° - 25.5° These vineyard blocks range in size from one to nine acres and
include names such as Sunspot, Venado Ilegal, John’s Folly, Rattler,
Cooperage: 30 months in 100% new French oak barrels (Allier & Tronçais)
Hitching Post, La Vigna Lana, and others. In addition, these blocks
are planted to varying rootstocks and to a handful of genetic sub-
Bottle: 8 months in the bottle prior to release
sets, called clones, of Cabernet Sauvignon. Each year our vineyard
Case Production: Approximately 3,500 - 3,800 team harvests the fruit from these blocks separately; we ferment
them separately and then select which hillside blocks will go into
that vintage’s wine — thus the name Hillside Select.

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Varietal 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Composition:
Brix at 24.0° - 25.5°
Harvest:
Cooperage: 32 months in 100% new French oak barrels (Allier & Tronçais)
Bottle: 15 months in the bottle prior to release
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Case Approximately 2,000 – 2,400
Production:
Shafer Vineyards