About Us

Founded by Dennis Cakebread, of Napa Valley’s famed Cakebread Cellars, the idea for Mullan Road emerged from a desire to explore. Cakebread Cellars is over 47 years old and has reached its target production levels. While it’s a very un-American concept to stop increasing production, Dennis felt there was opportunity in other wine regions. Walla Walla, Washington has an exciting, youthful energy and, once he explored it, Dennis knew it would be his next destination to make wine -- especially in the newly founded Royal Slope AVA region. This is the Cakebread family’s next frontier.

Men and dog walking near a vineyard

Dennis named Mullan Road Cellars after the road which stretches from Fort Benton, Montana to Fort Walla Walla in Washington, a 600-mile road, built in the 1800s. As a nod to the past, he and Winemaker Aryn Morell make Mullan Road Cellars' wine in downtown Walla Walla, Washington.

At Mullan Road, Dennis and Aryn concentrate on one wine: a red Bordeaux blend, made primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon. A Bordeaux blend is a mélange of different grape varieties that all originated in this celebrated region of France. We occasionally bottle other, single-variety wines when exceptional fruit arrives but maintain a singular focus

Street marker signs

Mullan Road sources grapes from numerous vineyards over many Washington appellations, but focus on the Royal Slope AVA to showcase the quality of grapes grown in the state. Exploring vineyards from different areas allows the team to mingle different flavors and nuances to create a wonderful orchestral score filled with elegance and complexity.

“If you only have flutes, and are trying to build an orchestra score, what kind of music could you write?” – Dennis Cakebread