Celia earliest introduction to winemaking was at the hands (and feet) of her father John Welch, a hobby vineyardist and home winemaker in Medford, Oregon. When not hiking, skiing or fishing with her dad, Celia was working as his assistant in a small vineyard that featured quite a wide assortment of grape varieties. Interested in potentially pursuing writing/journalism or music as career choices, Celia eventually ended up at UC Davis School of Winemaking, earning a degree there in 1982. Celia’s attraction to the wine business was in part because of the blend of agriculture and science she had seen in her early introduction to fermentations, in part because of the promise of a career that included life outdoors in a rural setting, and in part because of the potential for travel to vineyards located in beautiful places worldwide.
Celia’s earliest years in the wine industry included a harvest in Sonoma County followed by visits to New Zealand’s early vineyards and a harvest season in Australia’s Barossa Valley, then back to Napa Valley to learn the ropes in small wineries and to become familiar with vineyards throughout the region. In 1992 Celia began a small consulting practice and realized the joy in working with small, single-vineyard estate properties and the passionate visionaries who own them. In the ensuing three decades, Celia has worked with vineyards from every AVA in Napa County, as well as in other regions of California, Oregon, and Argentina. Celia currently consults for a limited selection of Napa Valley clients, focusing primarily on ultra-premium, small-lot production of Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-style blends.
Celia was honored with Food & Wine’s Winemaker of the Year 2008, and in 2009 was nominated for a James Beard Award. Forbes.com honored her as one of America’s Top Ten Tastemakers” in 2005. Women for Winesense awarded her their 1999 “Hall of Fame Award”, and she received The Rising Star Award from the same organization. Celia is a professional member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, and a past co-chair of the Napa Valley Wine Technical Group. Although she has garnered professional accolades and multiple 100-point scores from various critics, she still considers her two children, John Masyczek and Marie Welch McLane, as her proudest achievements.