David Cameron “Cam” Baker Of Larkmead Vineyards Has Died

OBITUARY

David Cameron “Cam” Baker, proprietor of Larkmead Vineyards, was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 24, 1937. He died at his home on Larkmead Lane in Calistoga, California, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Cam was a husband, father, grandfather, lawyer, and winery proprietor.

Cam graduated from Stanford University in 1958 and received his law degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1961. Cam practiced law for more than 50 years, 12 of them as the Managing Partner at Pettit & Martin. Cam married Katharine Solari (Kate) in 1961 and the Baker family took up residence on Corinthian Island in Belvedere, California. Cam loved taking the ferry to work in downtown San Francisco and living on the shores of the Bay. He was a member of the Belvedere City Council and was elected Mayor in 1976.

 

Kate’s parents owned Larkmead Vineyards, a 150-acre estate in Napa Valley. When her parents passed away in 1993, Cam and Kate became the proprietors and took great pride and joy in reestablishing Larkmead Vineyards as a historic and highly respected vineyard and winery. Cam passionately experimented with different grape varietals, root stock, and clones to find those best suited for the soil and climate at the estate. In 2005, longtime friend, fellow Belvedere neighbor, and architect, Howard Backen, designed a new winery to be a natural fit with the rural, pastoral setting of Larkmead Lane.

 

Building upon success, the Barrel Hall and the signature Lark Room were designed and constructed in 2014. Cam consistently invested in farming and winemaking technology to drive Larkmead to achieve its full potential, characterized by the brand heritage and terroir. The revitalization of Larkmead is one of Kate and Cam’s greatest achievements and was accomplished in tribute to Kate’s parents Polly and Bruno Solari.

 

Cam had a lifelong interest in politics and worked hard to support candidates on both a national and local level. Cam became a fervent supporter of gun safety and control after he lost eight coworkers during a tragic mass shooting at the Pettit & Martin law offices in San Francisco in 1993. He was a Founding Member of the Legal Community Against Violence, which has now been integrated with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. In addition to Cam’s philanthropic work with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Cam and Kate also supported the Department of Viticulture & Enology at the University of California, Davis. The family had a close connection with one of the University’s first viticulture scholars, Dr. Harold Olmo.

 

David Cameron Baker II is survived by his wife, Kate Solari Baker; his three children, Cameron Baker III, Ann Fitzpatrick Baker, and John Solari Baker; and three grandchildren, Cameron Baker IV, Lucy H. Baker, and Alma Baker-Fielding. To honor Cam’s memory, the family has requested a donation in his name to OLE Health in Napa Valley or the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in lieu of flowers.

 

About Larkmead Vineyards

The broad patch of Calistoga that Larkmead Vineyards calls home has been under vine since the mid-1800s and has witnessed the turning of two centuries. In that time, Napa Valley has transformed from a vinous vestige of the Wild West to one of the most preeminent wine regions of the world. Larkmead played an active role in that swell, as their grapes have contributed to countless, celebrated Napa Valley wines across the decades. Critical to the Larkmead’s success, the estate has been in the hands of the Solari family since 1948. This steadiness has allowed for the type of careful study that is necessary to truly unlock a vineyard’s potential. Since the beginning of their modern winemaking history in 1997, the family has relentlessly fine-tuned their viticultural and cellar techniques to most accurately express the vineyard’s voice.