Vineyard Worker + Award Winning Vintner & Chef + Brewery Owner + UC Master Gardener + Mentor + Amelia's Napa Host & Associate Producer In 1967, Amelia Morán Ceja emigrated to the U.S. to join her father, a farmworker, who toiled for years in California’s vineyards. Today she’s crossing another border, turning upwardly mobile Latinos into wine aficionados with her subtle blend of viticulture, down-home cuisine and a Web-based marketing campaign.A strong matriarchal tradition in her family fostered Amelia’s independent spirit, but more than anything, Amelia feels it is flavors and her experience with food that have shaped her life choices. Long before the California legislature recognized Amelia as “Woman of the Year” in 2005 for “breaking the glass ceiling in a very competitive business,” the first Mexican-American woman ever to be elected president of a winery was on the frontier of wine. The dynamo behind more than 100 video blogs since 2009 on preparing Mexican cuisine and pairing it with wine, Amelia has introduced thousands to exciting flavor combinations they never dreamed of.Embracing both her Mexican heritage and American home, Amelia combines the best of what she finds in food and drink, tradition and innovation.Under her leadership, Harvard Business School published a case study titled Ceja Vineyards: Marketing to the Hispanic Wine Consumer?, and Ceja Vineyards has received numerous awards including: The California Latino Legislative Caucus 2012 Latino Spirit Award. The Spirit Awards recognize those individuals that exemplify the spirit of the Latino community that have contributed to the State of California..“I’ve embraced the best in both cultures and tossed away what doesn’t work,” says Amelia. “I don’t want to be homogeneous; my experience is enhancing my adopted country. I’ve made both of our cultures better. Why not share what is wonderful—and keep it?”