The Siela Wines Story

Local Carlsbad resident, Pete Strimaitis, Owner & Winemaker of Siela Winery, LLC is passionate about wines. He first discovered his love of wine in 1998 after a life altering bottle of french red burgundy. In 2012, after enrolling in enology (winemaking) and viticulture (grape growing) classes, Pete began crafting small production wines of his own. After winning a number of prestigous amateur awards, Pete decided to elevate his passion and launched his own brand, Siela Wines. His first commercial bottling was the 2015 Siela Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay, which won Silver Medal honors at the prestigous San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in January, 2017.

Siela (meaning “Soul”) honors Pete’s family’s eastern european heritage. Originating from a small, rural Lithuanian village, Pete’s great aunt would harvest honey from bee hives on her farm and make mead (honey wine) for local villagers. When the family left eastern europe and immigrated to the U.S., his great aunt continued to make mead and wine in the family garage for family, friends, and neighbors. Her unique hobby has inspired Pete’s passion in the art of crafting very special, one-of-a-kind wines.

Each year, we source only the highest quality grapes from top vineyards in northern California to make our limited production wines. Pete believes in a hands off, minimalistic approach to winemaking. Therefore, allowing the growing season and the grapes to “speak for themselves”. We truly hope you enjoy our wines.