About Silvara
Where Climate & Culture Meet for Perfect Wine
We’ll just come right out and say it: Washington State produces some of the best wines in the world. This ancient land has been shaped by geological forces hundreds of millions of years in the making. As a result, there is a range of terroir as perfectly suited to growing pristine grapes. Consequently, crafting world-class wines as anywhere in the United States.
At Silvara Cellars, our guiding principles have always been the same. Crafting small-production wine from the very best vineyard sites in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, expressing the majesty of this land in every bottle we produce.
We take deep, passionate pride to be making wine in Washington State. We hope you feel the same sense of excitement that we do every time you take a sip. From the sweeping vistas of the Cascades to the woodlands and ancient soils that define our amazing terroir, our wines embody everything that makes the Pacific Northwest so special.
This is Washington State. This is Silvara Cellars.
FOUNDER & WINEMAKER
Silvara Cellars was founded by winemaker Gary Seidler in 2008. Gary’s approach to winemaking is a traditional one. Seeking out grapes from the best growers and distinct AVA’s in Washington State. Bringing out the natural depth and complexity in that fruit. And crafting terroir-driven wines that reflect their distinct appellations.
Like many of the best winemakers in the United States, he came to it later in life.
After a stint as a touring sound tech in the 1970s, Gary went on to found six different companies. Each on of these companies with its own distinct challenges, setbacks, and victories. After selling his sixth business he retired at the age of 48. That was when Gary realized he had the passionate desire to get back to a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle.
Having grown up working in agriculture and surrounded by a large Italian-German family in upstate New York. What we now refer to as “farm to table” -grandmothers who baked, uncles who cured meats and cheeses- were just another Sunday supper for Gary. It left an impression on him.
At the age of 52, he began working toward his degree in viticulture and enology at U.C. Davis, one of the most prestigious universities in the world for the study of grape-growing and winemaking.
Training with some of the best growers and winemakers in Washington’s wine country, Gary had the opportunity to start a winery in either Napa or Washington State. Napa already had a strong reputation in the wine world, whereas Washington had…well, everything else. From its economics to the diversity of distinct growing regions, Gary could see that the Pacific Northwest was ripe with untapped potential. With plans drawn up by renowned Montana architect Jeri Locati, Gary grabbed his tool belt and a 6-ft. ladder. Consequently, he began building his tasting room in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains.
SILVARA CELLARS
He named his winery Silvara, which is derived from a Latin word that means “of the forest.” The name is not only a tribute to the Evergreen State, but it is also a tribute to those individuals who brave the woods of impossibility to take up the challenge of writing their own pioneering story.
Now in his 15th year at Silvara Cellars, and after a lifetime of finding success in other fields, Gary has done just that. And with each vintage, that story continues to unfold.
