Cakebread Cellars

About the Business

Specialties

Cakebread Cellars is an iconic Napa Valley winery centrally located in Rutherford, California. Founded in 1973 by Jack and Dolores Cakebread, it is a family owned and operated business focused on consistent quality of handcrafted wines.

History

Established in 1973.

Jack Cakebread originally worked as the head of his father's Oakland car repair business and pursued freelance photography on the side--studying with Ansel Adams from 1957 to 1966. In 1972, Jack was hired to come to Napa Valley to help photograph a Napa Valley coffee table book. Jack used the $2,500 advance from that book to purchase a 22-acre cattle ranch, the current site of Cakebread Cellars. He continued working in Oakland while he and Dolores planted and tended to grapes at the winery on evenings and weekends. The next year they founded their winery and sold their first wine, a 1973 Chardonnay. As production increased, Jack traveled throughout the U.S. and later the world to share celebrated Cakebread wines with distributors, retailers, restaurateurs, and consumers.

Meet the Business Owner

Business owner information

Dennis C.

Business Owner

Dennis Cakebread was still in college in 1973, when his parents founded Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, he worked first as a CPA and then as a chief financial officer in banking and financial services. He and his brothers had been helping out at the winery from the beginning, but in 1987, Dennis joined Cakebread Cellars full time. He spent three decades heading up sales and marketing, overseeing the growth of the business from the family's initial endeavors to celebrated winery, and developing long-standing relationships with trade partners and consumers. Today, Dennis serves as Chairman of the Board.