Having worked in the Napa Valley for over 30 years, Joe Cafaro produces wines of great depth and complexity that are both elegant and lush. He sees winemaking as traditional in form and modern in execution. He pumps the fermenting juice over the cap to extract the most from the fruit, ferments in stainless steel to control temperature and ages the young wines in small French and American oak barrels for two years, followed by an additional year in the bottle prior to release. Production is very limited.

Before founding Cafaro Cellars in 1986, Joe Cafaro made wine at a number of the top small wineries in the Napa Valley (Chappellet, Keenan, Acacia, Robert Sinskey, Oakville Ranch Vineyard and Dalla Valle) and remains a consulting winemaker today at Emilio's Terrace.

Joe Cafaro and his wife Libby developed a 15 acre vineyard in the eastern hills south of the Stag's Leap appellation in 1996. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. The first grapes from the new vineyard were harvested in 1999. Now this estate vineyard is the only source of fruit for Cafaro Cellars.