Cakebread Cellars

Cakebread Cellars, in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley, is one of the best-known family-owned and operated producers in California. It is best known for wines made from Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon and it is one of the most popular names on U.S. restaurant winelists.

Founded in 1973 by Jack and Dolores Cakebread, it was expanded in 1982 through the purchase of adjacent land. Cakebread now has 15 estate vineyards, considered the optimal size, and has not grown any more since 2005. The winery produces around 175,000 cases a year.

Cakebread's flagship wines are the Napa Chardonnay and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, but there is also a range of single-vineyard and estate wines. These include an Anderson Valley AVA Pinot Noir and a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. In 2008, the winery became Napa Green Certified, as well as being a part of the Napa River Restoration Project.

The goal in the vineyard is to get fully ripe grapes, but with a lower value Brix to ensure a more restrained style of wine than Napa is famous for. The Chardonnay is 90-percent barrel-fermented, with roughly one-third of that taking place in new oak. only 10 percent is allowed to go through malolactic fermentation.

Cakebread Wineries recently opened a second label in Walla Walla, Washington called Mullan Road Cellars. It released an inaugural 1500 cases of a Bordeaux-style blend in 2014.