Winemaker Profile: Celia Welch MaryAnn Worobiec Issue: May 31, 2009
Even
as a child, Celia Welch realized that she was passionate about the way
things smell and taste. She recalls a childhood birthday party where
she suggested that instead of playing pin the tail on the donkey, a
better game would be for guests to try to guess the spices in her
mother's cabinet by scent and flavor.
Today, she gets to challenge her palate every day as one of Napa
Valley's most admired winemakers. A Cabernet specialist, Welch
(formerly Masyczek) makes wine for eight wineries, including some of
Napa's most sought-after, such as D.R. Stephens and Scarecrow. Her own
label is called Corra.
The youngest of four children, Welch grew up in a small town in
Oregon. Her father, an internist, was a wine lover and home winemaker
who planted a half-acre of assorted vines in their yard for
experimentation—everything from French Colombard to Charbono.
Welch pursued winemaking, earning a degree in fermentation science
from the University of California, Davis, in 1982. "I came out of Davis
with a strong set of technical skills and not a lot of practical idea
of how wine is made," she recalls. She saw many women hired for lab
jobs, but not for cellar positions.
She traveled to Burgundy and did stints in New Zealand and Australia
before landing in Napa, settling in and making her mark at Staglin.
Since 1995, she has been an independent winemaker, one who has managed
to keep a low public profile while her wines gained in stature and her
reputation grew.
Describing her winemaking goals, Welch refers to structure and
texture more than flavors. "I want density, but not to be overbearing,"
she says. "I don't want to be the equivalent of the loudest voice in
the bar. I want quality and complexity expressed, but quietly."
Scarecrow stands out as one of her biggest achievements. Founded by
photographer Bret Lopez and stylist Mimi DeBlasio, who resurrected
Rutherford's famed J.J. Cohn Ranch in 2002, the winery's debut
Scarecrow Cabernet 2003 sold out briskly. And the 2004 vintage (96
points) sold out in 16 hours.
Welch, 48, a single mother of two teenagers, bases her operations at
the custom crush facility Laird, where she makes six clients' wines. In
this busy facility, she admires everyone involved in making the wine
with her. "None of us are doing this 100 percent by ourselves," she
says. She sees winemaking as collaboration and tries hard not to let
her ego get in the way.
"Most of the wines [I make] are estate grown, and each bears its own
personality and stamp of soil. My own influence on the product is
invisible," she says. "I don't want someone to taste a wine and say,
'Oh, Celia made this.'" But when asked to what degree a wine is made in
the vineyard, she says, "Well, if you give five different winemakers
the same fruit, you'll get very different wines." She and her finely
tuned palate are obviously doing something right. —MaryAnn Worobiec
