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A Vineyard in Napa cover art

A Vineyard in Napa

By: Doug/Andy Shafer/Demsky, Andy Demsky
Narrated by: Kevin Young
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Summary

At the age of 47, when he was a successful publishing executive and living with his wife and four children in an affluent Chicago suburb, John Shafer made the surprise announcement that he had purchased a vineyard in the Napa Valley. In 1973, he moved his family to California and, with no knowledge of winemaking, began the journey that would lead him, 30 years later, to own and operate what distinguished wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. called "one of the world’s greatest wineries". This book, narrated by Shafer’s son Doug, is a personal account of how his father turned his midlife dream into a remarkable success story.

Set against the backdrop of Napa Valley’s transformation from a rural backwater in the 1970s through its emergence today as one of the top wine regions in the world, the book begins with the winery’s shaky start and takes the reader through the father and son’s ongoing battles against killer bugs, cellar disasters, local politics, changing consumer tastes, and the volatility of nature itself. Doug Shafer tells the story of his own education, as well as Shafer Vineyards’ innovative efforts to be environmentally sustainable, its role in spearheading the designation of a Stags Leap American Viticultural Area, and how the wine industry has changed in the contemporary era of custom-crushing and hobbyist winery investors.

©2012 The Regents of the University of California (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

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More than just a book on The Napa Valley.

I am now on my third listening of this Audio book.

As with my title, this is more than a story about the Napa Valley. This is the story of how one man changed his and his families lives forever.
Beautifully narrated, at first I thought it was Doug Shafer narrating himself.
This is a story of how Shafer Vineyards started but more than that, it is a story of how the Napa Valley operated and the people of the different appellations were involved in its struggles and glories in the early 1970’s.
I have purchased a hardback copy of this book to add to my collection.

This is a wonderful listen.

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