KERRIN LAZ, OWNER

Growing up on the east end of Long Island, New York, Kerrin Laz was raised by parents that loved to cook and bake, using only fresh, local ingredients. Kerrin was first introduced to wine and viticulture during her childhood when she witnessed the evolution of surrounding sod fields and potato farms evolve into vineyards of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. 

After an incredible twelve years with DEAN & DELUCA overseeing the wine program, in the Spring of 2015, Kerrin left DEAN & DELUCA to launch K. LAZ WINE COLLECTION, an online wine shop and beautifully appointed tasting room and retail shop in Yountville, the heart of Napa Valley. 

In Fall of 2016, Kerrin added vintner to her title when she released the inaugural vintage of her own wine label, LAZ Wine. Seeing many in the business beginning their own wine projects Kerrin knew that if she were to ever start her own brand, she would only partner with one of the best winemakers and source from only the best vineyards. If that wasn’t a possibility, then she simply wouldn’t launch her own wine. Luckily, thanks to her great working relationship and friendship with renowned winemaker Celia Welch, Kerrin was able to bring Celia on board as the winemaker for LAZ WINE and in October 2016, the debut vintage of 2014 LAZ Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was released.

She is also the founder of the non-profit, Inspire Napa Valley, which raises funds and awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia in the wine community and for guests throughout the country with a 3-day weekend in Spring and one-day event in December. Since its inception in 2018, Inspire Napa Valley has raised over $4.6 million to support the cause.

CELIA WELCH, WINEMAKER

Celia Welch’s first interaction with grapes was under the huge oak tree in her backyard in Southern Oregon, where her siblings and she plucked grape berries from stems for their father, an avid wine collector and home winemaker. Her parents also included the family on trips through Napa and Sonoma in the early sixties, and, like most visitors, she was entranced with the beauty of the rolling vineyards.  Celia had reached a fork in her career path in the early nineties, and she chose to focus on independent wine consulting. The wines she has made create a microcosm of Napa Valley. She has made wine from vineyards on Mt. Veeder, Atlas Peak, and Howell Mountain to those in Carneros, and from benchland vineyards from St. Helena to Napa.