Dennis Cakebread

Dennis Cakebread, Gamma (California-Berkeley), was initiated into Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity on May 4, 1974. During his undergraduate years, Cakebread’s parents founded Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford, California. After graduating, he worked as a certified public accountant and then as a chief financial officer in banking and financial services. While he had always helped with his parents’ winery, in 1987, he joined the family business full-time. Cakebread managed the business’s sales and marketing for three decades, overseeing immense growth and developing crucial relationships with consumers, trade partners and fellow industry professionals.

In 2012, Cakebread founded Mullan Road Cellars, departing from Napa Valley to make wine that showcased the terrain and history of the Northwest, specifically Washington State.

Throughout his career, Cakebread has worked to improve the greater wine community by co-founding the Free the Grapes Coalition and working towards the Supreme Court victory that changed direct-to-consumer laws, enabling United States consumers to purchase wine directly from producers.

Highlights

• Co-owner and Chairman of the Board – Cakebread Cellars
• Founder – Mullan Road Cellars
• Co-Founder, Board Member – Free the Grapes Coalition
• Board of Directors – Wine Institute