In 2012, when Sharla and Leo Ortega began making a home on 11 acres in the hills of La Cresta overlooking Murrieta, they saw a place where they could raise their blended family of six children. What they could not yet see was how that hillside would bring together their histories, their parents’ influence, and the work that would become the House of ESELO.
Their story began long before the first agave was planted. Sharla and Leo went to high school together in California’s central San Joaquin Valley, where agriculture shaped the communities around them. They found each other before Leo left for college, but distance made the relationship difficult to sustain. They reconnected during college, then went their separate ways again. For 15 years, they had no communication. Each married and became a parent to three children, building lives that, in different ways, continued to prepare them for the future they would eventually share.
When they reunited in 2012, they had much to learn about who the other had become. They discovered that their curiosity, willingness to work, and interest in building things were still there. So was their connection. Bringing their families together became the beginning of another chapter, one that would eventually lead them back to the land.
The Experience They Brought Together
Sharla’s connection to agriculture reaches back four generations. She grew up in an almond-farming family and saw firsthand the work required to sustain a farm, along with the uncertainty that drought and water availability could bring. Her parents, Marshall and Judy, farmed together for three decades. Marshall was fascinated by the possibilities of integrating technology into agriculture in the 1980s. Judy brought financial discipline, balancing a budget to the penny and understanding what it took to keep the operation moving.
Their example stayed with Sharla. Farming meant paying attention to the land, making decisions with consequences that might take years to reveal themselves, and working together through conditions they could not always control. The water challenges her parents faced also shaped her interest in crops and landscapes suited to a changing climate.
Sharla carried that practical experience into other pursuits. She became a classically trained chef, earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, and completed a master’s degree in Legal Studies at Pepperdine. Her background brought together agriculture, food, business judgment, and an understanding of legal issues. Each would have a place in the business she and Leo would build.
Leo followed a different path, grounded in engineering and business. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and an MBA in Global Business from the University of Redlands. His career included work on an electric car in the 1990s, television design in Sony’s Mechanical Design group, and cardiovascular medical devices as a mechanical engineer at Abbott Vascular. He later became a Technical Program Manager at Oakley, part of the Luxottica Group.
Across those industries, he learned to move between design, development, finance, and the practical demands of bringing an idea into use. That experience would become valuable on a steep hillside, where growing, harvesting, and processing agave presented a new set of problems to understand.
Leo’s parents, Elsa and Leopoldo Ortega Sr., are also an important part of the story. A first-generation Mexican American with family roots in Jalisco and San Luis Potosí, Leo brought his heritage into the conversations surrounding agave. His father has participated in the process and discussions from the beginning. Both parents have supported the family’s work and share an appreciation for Sharla’s connection to agriculture.
Although Sharla’s parents have passed, their influence continues in the way she approaches the farm. Alongside the involvement of Elsa and Leopoldo, that influence makes ESELO a continuation of lessons learned across generations.
Fifty Agaves and a New Direction
In 2013, Sharla suggested planting 50 Agave americana on the property. She had already designed a drought-tolerant landscape for a previous home and understood the importance of choosing plants that could work with the soil and climate. On the Murrieta hillside, agave offered a possibility worth exploring.
They did not begin with a finished plan for a spirits brand. They began by planting, observing, and learning.
The agaves grew and multiplied. Over time, the property became home to approximately 6,000 agaves, about 300 planted trees, and more than 1,000 grapevines. The large americana plants created pockets of shade and shelter for wildlife, including quail, lizards, rabbits, and other animals that moved through the hillside. Sharla’s attention extended to the surrounding habitat as well as the crop.
As the plants multiplied, Sharla and Leo obtained a California nursery license under the name Blue Agave Nursery. Selling plants was their first way of turning that growth into a business. Eventually, the agaves became so large that shipping them was costly, prompting Sharla to investigate what else they might become.
She explored uses ranging from spirits to cosmetics, biofuel, and products made from the tall flower stalks, or quiotes. The nursery evolved into an operating agave farm under J SLAMMED in 2021, a name drawn from the initials of Sharla, Leo, and their six children.
The family was part of the business from its name onward.
From the Hillside to the Bottle
The next question was whether their agave could become a spirit they would be proud to share.
Sharla found a potential connection and left a note on Leo’s computer: “Ventura Spirits.” That note led to their first agave sale to the distillery. Seeing their crop move into spirit production was satisfying, but it also opened more questions. They wanted to understand the process and become more involved in what happened after harvest.
Following another batch with Shelter Distillery, they began looking for a partner with whom they could develop the journey from plant to finished spirit.
The connection came during a family trip. While driving to Arizona to move his daughter to college, Leo noticed a billboard for Joshua Tree Distilling. He called and reached voicemail. On the return trip, he tried again. This time, Paul answered.
That conversation became the beginning of a partnership. Sharla and Leo invested in Joshua Tree Distilling and committed to working together on a local agave spirit.
The work demanded patience. Agave needs to be cooked to convert its stored carbohydrates into sugars that can be fermented. Their plants, growing conditions, and equipment required experimentation to find an approach that worked consistently. Some batches did not succeed. Each setback brought more questions about cooking, fermentation, sanitation, and the character of the finished spirit.
They sought help from universities, experienced distillers, winemakers, yeast companies, and scientists. On the farm, they also learned to manage pests and recognize the effects of excess moisture. Progress came through their own observations and the knowledge others were willing to share.
For more than a decade, their desks have faced each other in their home office. The arrangement reflects how they work. Sharla notices changes in individual plants, drawing on a lifetime of farming experience. Leo works through measurements, equipment, temperatures, and timing. Their perspectives meet in the decisions they make together.
Harvesting on the steep slopes required ingenuity. Processing the plants led them to develop their own oven and cooking approach, applying Leo’s engineering experience to the crop Sharla had first envisioned. Throughout that work, both held to the same standard: the finished spirit had to be something they were proud to put their name on.
Sharing What They Had Built
In February 2026, ESELO received its first small batch of premium agave spirit bottles for market. The timing was close. They had promised Kandy Cocktail a bottle for Riverside’s Tequila & Mezcal Lovers Day on Valentine’s Day and had only just received the bottles from Joshua Tree Distilling.
Surrounded by established spirits vendors and a crowd of enthusiasts, they were about to find out how people would respond.
Some visitors were surprised that the agave had been grown and the spirit produced in California. Others were particularly excited to learn how close to home it was: in the Inland Empire, on a hillside just down the road.
For Sharla and Leo, those conversations connected years of work to the people who would enjoy the result. They could explain where the plants grew, what they had learned, and how they had adapted their process to their setting.
Both Sharla and Leo have participated in California Agave Council events and symposiums as the industry has developed. Leo’s board service reflects their interest in contributing to the broader community of growers and producers, as well as building their own farm.
A House Built Across Generations
The grapevines growing beside the agaves carry another part of Sharla’s agricultural roots into the property. Elsa and Leopoldo supported that addition and helped oversee its development. The vineyard includes Barbera, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Graciano, and Sangiovese, with wine becoming another chapter they are working toward.
The House of ESELO has also expanded into art and film. A bourbon collaboration with artist Sir Daniel K. Winn connects ESELO to his biopic, Chrysalis, on which Sharla and Leo serve as executive producers. Their involvement in that project and the creation of ESELO Films extend their interest in craftsmanship and the stories people carry with them.
Each new undertaking requires the same patience that agriculture first taught them. Plants take years to mature. Ideas need time, attention, and people willing to work through uncertainty together.
Marshall and Judy’s example remains present in Sharla’s approach to the land, technology, and the business behind the farm. Elsa and Leopoldo continue to bring their support, involvement, and family history to what Sharla and Leo are creating. Their six children are part of the life that brought them to this hillside in the first place.
What began with a home and 50 agaves has grown through the experience of two founders and the influence of the families who shaped them. The House of ESELO carries that history forward, from the land they tend to the spirits and stories they share.
Learn more at ESELO Spirits, Joshua Tree Distilling Company, and Chrysalis.
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