Charles Frank Shaw Jr.[1] (born September 15, 1943)[2] is an American businessman and former winery owner whose name is used for Charles Shaw wine, a brand of inexpensive table wines.
Born in Michigan, Shaw graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. degree in 1965 and was commissioned as a United States Air Force officer. After leaving active duty as a captain in 1969, he graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business with an M.B.A. degree in 1971 and became an investment banker in Houston, Texas.[2] He became enamored of Beaujolais wine while living in Europe and moved to Napa Valley in 1974 to start a winery. In 1991 Shaw and his wife divorced and sold his original Charles Shaw label to Fred Franzia's Bronco Wine Company. The label had a good reputation, so Bronco used the name to market an inexpensive table wine.[3]
Shaw moved to Chicago, Illinois, and found employment there working for the healthcare software company Heartbase. In 2003, he announced he was considering starting a winery in southwestern Michigan.[4] He did so, founding Oerther Vineyard, which specializes in Riesling.
Shaw is conductor Robert Shaw's second cousin.