Cakebread Cellars

In 1972 Jack Cakebread came to Napa Valley to help photograph Nathan Chroman's book The Treasury of American Wines. On that visit he made a casual offer to buy a friend's 22-acre ranch in Rutherford, the Sturdivant Ranch, and the offer was accepted that afternoon; Jack and Dolores Cakebread used the $2,500 advance from the photography book as the down payment. Jack kept working at Cakebread's Garage, the family car repair business in Oakland, while the couple planted and tended grapes on evenings and weekends. They founded Cakebread Cellars in 1973. The first winery was built beside the pond in 1974, the year the first wine, a 1973 Chardonnay of 157 cases, was released. The first Cabernet Sauvignon, from the 1974 vintage, followed in 1976. Jack and Dolores stepped back from the winery in 2005. Dolores Cakebread (d. 2020) created the garden on the property and two cookbooks with chef Brian Streeter; Jack Cakebread (d. 2022) studied photography with Ansel Adams from 1957 to 1966. Their sons Bruce and Dennis Cakebread are co-owners. In 2018 Mike Jaeger became president and CEO, the first non-family leader in the winery's history, and David Amadia succeeded him effective September 2025. The Cakebread portfolio also includes Bezel, from California's Central Coast, and Mullan Road Cellars, in Washington's Royal Slope AVA. Production is around 200,000 cases per year.

• 1972: Jack and Dolores Cakebread bought the 22-acre Sturdivant Ranch in Rutherford.
• 1973: Cakebread Cellars founded; the 1973 Chardonnay (157 cases) was released in 1974.
• 2005: Jack and Dolores stepped back from the winery; Bruce and Dennis Cakebread are co-owners.
• 2018: Mike Jaeger became the first non-family president and CEO; David Amadia succeeded him in September 2025.
• Sister brands: Bezel (Central Coast) and Mullan Road Cellars (Royal Slope AVA, Washington).

The winery's team page lists Dennis Cakebread as co-owner and Chairman of the Board, Bruce Cakebread as co-owner and board member, David Amadia as President and CEO, Kathy DeVillers as Chief Financial Officer since January 2026, Niki Williams as winemaker, Jessica Luke Baumgartner as Director of Vineyard Operations and Brian Streeter as Executive Chef. Bruce Cakebread joined the family business full time as winemaker in 1979 after graduating from UC Davis, and in 2002 became President and Chief Operating Officer, when Julianne Laks became winemaker. Stephanie Jacobs joined as an enologist in 2004 and became head winemaker in 2017, the fourth winemaker in the winery's history after Jack Cakebread, Bruce Cakebread and Julianne Laks. Niki Williams joined as Director of Winemaking in 2023. Dennis Cakebread joined the winery full time in 1987 and spent three decades heading up sales and marketing. Jack Cakebread served as president of the Napa Valley Vintners Association in 1990, Dennis in 1997 and Bruce in 2010.

• Co-owners: Dennis Cakebread (Chairman of the Board) and Bruce Cakebread (board member).
• President and CEO: David Amadia, since September 2025; CFO: Kathy DeVillers, since January 2026.
• Winemakers: Jack Cakebread, Bruce Cakebread (from 1979), Julianne Laks (from 2002), Stephanie Jacobs (head winemaker from 2017); Niki Williams joined as Director of Winemaking in 2023.
• Executive Chef Brian Streeter has cooked at the winery since 1989.

From the original 22-acre vineyard in Rutherford, the estate has grown to 17 vineyards totaling 1,600 acres across Napa and Anderson Valleys, with over 700 acres planted to vine. The three winery ranches near the winery are Rutherford Ranch, the original vineyard bought in 1972, Oakville Ranch, in the Oakville appellation just to the south, and River Ranch, along the Napa River; they have gravelly soils and grow Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. In Carneros the winery owns six vineyard ranches with shallow loam soils: Cuttings Wharf Road, Tinsley Ranch, Milton Road, Foster Road, Cassidy Road, added in 2021, and Ahmann Ranch, bought in 2023 at 209 acres, the family's largest vineyard acquisition. The three Suscol vineyards, Arroyo Creek, Suscol Springs and Suscol Mountain, lie in the Vaca mountain range southeast of the town of Napa. Maple Lane Vineyard sits in the Calistoga AVA near the Silverado Trail. Dancing Bear Ranch, on Howell Mountain, was bought in 1998 as 200 acres and developed into hillside vineyards; its elevations run from 1,450 to over 1,600 feet, and it grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with some vines planted as early as 1999. The property is named for videos of bears in the vineyard, recorded after Dennis Cakebread hooked up a motion detector to a boom box to keep them away from the Merlot. In 1995 the family bought a 60-acre former apple orchard in Anderson Valley near Boonville; the winery's two Anderson Valley vineyards, Annahala Ranch and Apple Barn, sit on the banks of Anderson Creek and grow Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Phylloxera damage led the winery to replant all 75 acres of its vineyards, completed in 1994.

• Winery ranches (Rutherford and Oakville AVAs): Rutherford Ranch, Oakville Ranch and River Ranch.
• Carneros: Cuttings Wharf Road, Tinsley Ranch, Milton Road, Foster Road, Cassidy Road (2021) and Ahmann Ranch (2023, 209 acres).
• Suscol (Vaca mountain range): Arroyo Creek, Suscol Springs and Suscol Mountain; Calistoga: Maple Lane.
• Howell Mountain: Dancing Bear Ranch, 1,450 to over 1,600 feet.
• Anderson Valley: Annahala Ranch and Apple Barn, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

The current white wines are the Napa Valley Chardonnay, Chardonnay Reserve, Tinsley Vineyard Chardonnay, Cuttings Wharf Vineyard Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Viewfinder White Pinot Noir and Vin De Porche Rosé. The reds include the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Dancing Bear Cabernet Sauvignon, Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Vaca Cabernet Sauvignon, Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Suscol Springs Cabernet Sauvignon, Viewfinder Suscol Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Suscol Springs Syrah and Pinot Noirs from Apple Barn Vineyard, Annahala Ranch and Two Creeks Vineyards. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is blended from sites in Rutherford, Oakville, Calistoga and the Suscol watershed. The Benchland Select is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from benchland vineyards in the Oakville and Rutherford AVAs, on Bale loam soils. The Sauvignon Blanc draws on vineyards across Napa Valley and the North Coast, including estate properties in Carneros, Suscol Springs, Rutherford and Calistoga. The first Rutherford Reserve vintage was 1980, the first Merlot was made in 1991, the first Pinot Noir in 1994, the first Benchland Select in 1995, and the first Suscol Springs Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were released in 2021.

• Whites: Chardonnay (Napa Valley, Reserve, Tinsley Vineyard, Cuttings Wharf Vineyard), Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Viewfinder White Pinot Noir, Vin De Porche Rosé.
• Cabernet Sauvignon: Napa Valley, Dancing Bear, Benchland Select, Vaca, Vine Hill Ranch, Suscol Springs, Viewfinder Suscol Mountain.
• Other reds: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Suscol Springs Syrah, and Pinot Noir from Apple Barn Vineyard, Annahala Ranch and Two Creeks Vineyards.
• First vintages: Rutherford Reserve 1980, Merlot 1991, Pinot Noir 1994, Benchland Select 1995, Dancing Bear Ranch 2002.

The winery credits the cool, windswept Carneros vineyards with 'refreshing acidity that is signature to our Cakebread Chardonnays.' The winery's team page gives winemaker Niki Williams's philosophy as 'crafting balanced, elegant blends that are approachable when young, yet capable of aging gracefully.' Of the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the winery's aim is 'to blend a Bordeaux-style wine that is rich yet refined.'

Cakebread Cellars has been a certified Napa Green winery since 2008. All Cakebread-owned vineyards are certified Fish Friendly, the Suscol Mountain Vineyard since 2018, and the winery has been a Silver Member of International Wineries for Climate Action since October 2022. The winery farms with no herbicides and no synthetic fertilizers, using legume cover crops of fava and bell beans, grazing sheep, owl boxes and falcons. Water used in winemaking is recaptured and cleaned through three settling and aeration ponds and reused to irrigate the vines and gardens. All of its electricity comes from a 50/50 blend of solar and wind power through MCE's Clean Energy Deep Green Program. The organic garden, certified Bee Friendly in 2018, covers three-quarters of an acre.

• Napa Green certified winery since 2008.
• All Cakebread-owned vineyards certified Fish Friendly (Suscol Mountain since 2018); IWCA Silver Member since October 2022.
• No herbicides or synthetic fertilizers; cover crops, grazing sheep, owl boxes and falcons.
• Winery water recaptured through three ponds; electricity from solar and wind.

In 1985 a remodel of the 100-year-old winery home created a kitchen and accommodations for guests, and Jim May became the winery's first resident chef. Brian Streeter has cooked at the winery since 1989; he created and led the annual American Harvest Workshop, a four-day 'boot camp' for chefs, sommeliers, press and consumers, and leads hands-on cooking classes at the winery. Dolores Cakebread and Brian Streeter created The Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook and The Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Cookbook, the second also with Janet Fletcher.

• 1985: Jim May became the first resident chef.
• Executive Chef Brian Streeter, at the winery since 1989, created the American Harvest Workshop and leads cooking classes.
• Two cookbooks created by Dolores Cakebread with Brian Streeter.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.cakebread.com/about/our-history/, https://www.cakebread.com/about/our-vineyards/, https://www.cakebread.com/about/our-team/, https://www.cakebread.com/about/our-practices/, https://www.cakebread.com/collection/white/, https://www.cakebread.com/collection/red/, and the wine pages https://www.cakebread.com/product/2023-chardonnay-napa-valley/, https://www.cakebread.com/product/2025-sauvignon-blanc/, https://www.cakebread.com/product/2022-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley/, https://www.cakebread.com/product/2022-dancing-bear-cabernet-sauvignon-howell-mountain/, https://www.cakebread.com/product/2023-apple-barn-pinot-noir-an-derson-valley/, https://www.cakebread.com/product/2023-benchland-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley/. Secondary sources: The Napa Wine Project (https://www.napawineproject.com/cakebread-cellars/) and The Drinks Business (Sophie Arundel, 9 September 2025, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/09/cakebread-cellars-names-david-amadia-as-new-ceo/). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.