Napa student receives award honoring winemaker Warren Winiarski

FOR THE NAPA VALLEY REGISTER June 13, 2025

Quetzaly Hernandez Rojas, a 2025 graduate of Vintage High School, received the Warren Winiarski award at the recent If Given A Chance Celebrating Our Stars event. She will study viticulture and enology at UC Davis this fall.

The family of the late Warren Winiarski, Napa Valley winemaker and founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, announced the establishment of an endowed award in his memory.

The award will go to students supported by If Given A Chance (IGAC) who pursue studies in viticulture and enology, continuing Winiarski’s legacy of excellence and commitment to the future of winemaking, according to a news release.

Quetzaly Hernandez Rojas, a 2025 graduate of Vintage High School, is the first recipient of the Warren Winiarski award, the release said.

“Our family is delighted to extend our warmest congratulations to Quetzaly, the first recipient of the If Given A Chance Warren Winiarski Award,” said a statement from the Winiarksi children Kasia, Stephen and Julia. “Our father’s resolute belief in the individual and societal benefits provided through higher education, as well as his long tenure on the board of the IGAC, led him to establish the endowment, which funded this award. We are most pleased to witness the continuation of the work of IGAC in his name, and we wish Quetzaly best success in her studies in the Viticulture and Enology Department at UC Davis.”

“I felt like it had no purpose growing up,” Hernandez Rojas said. “However, If Given A Chance has changed my perspective on myself. I am the first woman in my family to receive a high school diploma, and this award will make it possible for me to be the very first person in my family to go to a four-year college. It's incredible for me to say this because the 10-year-old me couldn’t imagine how far I've come.”

The Warren Winiarski award is the latest in targeted annual financial assistance provided to students supported by IGAC. The organization also provides the William S. Chiat Award, which supports LGBTQ+ students; the Senator Bill Dodd Award, which goes to students pursuing careers in business, politics or public service; and the Bob Almeida and Harry Price Award for students interested in careers in business, financial services, real estate or the arts.

For more information, visit. ifgivenachance.org.