OUR TEAM
Meet Team Eleven Eleven
These incredible people are what make our wine, tasting experiences and brand exceptional.
PARTNERS
My passion is derived from many sources: my love for connecting with people over fine wine, food, music, art, sports and conversation. My values are rooted in family and friendships that last a lifetime.
Ellie Anest grew up in Nebraska on a working farm. Her father owned and operated a farming operation which included cattle, sugar beets, soybeans, and corn. Her mother was self-taught, and creative in the areas of cooking, gardening, and decor. Her parents’ ability to nurture seeds into valuable crops inspired her to cultivate ideas and bring them to life. At age 20, Ellie moved to San Diego where she attended San Diego State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Accounting. While there, she became involved in philanthropy through the local Greek community, and soon met Carol Vassiliadis. Over time, they cultivated a deep friendship that ultimately led to their partnership and the creation of Eleven Eleven Winery.
Before founding Eleven Eleven, Ellie built a broad resume working with Fortune 500 companies, mid-size firms and small businesses alike. She began her career at KPMG, providing accounting and finance support for her clients, followed by numerous years at the Taco Bell Corporation on both business planning and marketing teams. Ellie has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and for approximately seven years, she owned and operated Anest Financial Solutions. Here she provided a variety of business consulting services for small to mid-size companies. Prior to starting the winery, Ellie worked at RGP, a publicly traded professional services firm, where she built a client base focusing on business solutions for various industries.
Through the course of her career, Ellie’s entrepreneurial spirit has prevailed. Her years of business experience, combined with strong values of quality and customer service, laid the foundation for the partnership venture of Eleven Eleven Winery.
When not working at the winery, Ellie offers up her time and resources to the Philoptochos Organization, a philanthropic extension of the Greek Orthodox Church. When not spending time with family, friends, loving on her nephews, nieces and godchildren, Ellie enjoys fitness, music and her time at the beach.
Ellie is a supporter of the Queen of the Valley Foundation, Festival Napa Valley, Napa Valley Film Festival, and National Ability Center among other non-profit organizations.
Carol Vassiliadis was born in New York and raised on Long Island, in Roslyn. She entered Penn State after graduating from high school and transferred to San Diego State College in her sophomore year when her parents moved to San Diego.
While at San Diego State, she was active in the theater department and appeared in Starlight Opera. After graduating with a degree in English and Speech, she taught at Helix High School in San Diego. A year later she moved to Pasadena with her family and spent the next nine years as a teacher and mentor at Pasadena High School.
Shortly after, she married her husband, Laki Vassiliadis, and had two children. During their marriage, Carol and Laki built a real estate business in San Diego, which still thrives today. Alongside supporting her husband in this business, she has been active in various philanthropic organizations in San Diego. Among them are the Greek Orthodox Church, Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, The San Diego Zoo, KPBS, University of San Diego, UC San Diego/Jacobs Medical Center, USC, and served on the board at Francis Parker School the entire time her children attended. Her husband passed away in 2002, at which point Carol expanded her philanthropy to include cancer research.
Carol’s entrepreneurial spirit was sparked when Ellie Anest presented her with an opportunity to invest in a new business venture - Eleven Eleven Winery. Creating Eleven Eleven fell right given her values of family and her love of community.
Carol currently resides in San Diego, California where she enjoys spending time with her two children, their spouses and her grandson.