{"id":89,"name":"Dillion Cellars","image_url":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipPs61ACNI_iI7td8RIlLC6jlWqw8wirJcuNOPQ0=w426-h240-k-no","district":"South","hours":"Thur: 11 am – 4 pm\nFriday: 11:00 pm – 4:30 PM\nSaturday: 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM\nSunday: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM","hours_type":"limited","dog_friendly":true,"red_wine":true,"white_wine":true,"bubbles":false,"brewery":false,"woman_owned":false,"year_established":2018,"winemaker":"Marc Leahy","website":"http://dilloncellars.com/","phone":"+1 206-496-8662","address":"3802 Rolling Hills Lane, Walla Walla, WA 99362, United States","description":"After harvests across Europe and Napa, Marc Dillon Leahy returned home to craft wines rooted in place, choosing elegance over excess, heritage over hype and balance over brawn","lat":46.0154872,"lng":-118.3868911,"appt_url":"https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=19731698","walk_in":false,"tasting_fee":"$30 per person, waived with purchase","explorer_tags":["bold reds","knowledge"],"profile":"# Dillon Cellars — Winery Knowledge Profile\n\n## Founding Story\n\nDillon Cellars was established in 2012 by Marc Dillon Leahy, who serves as both winemaker and owner. The winery was born out of Leahy's desire to return home and craft wines that genuinely reflect their origins — both in terms of place and process. After pursuing extensive academic and hands-on training across multiple continents, Leahy founded Dillon Cellars with a clear philosophical mandate: to prioritize elegance, heritage, and balance over more trend-driven or high-extraction styles of winemaking. The winery's guiding ethos is captured in Leahy's own words: *\"Each wine is deeply rooted in a clear sense of place, and guided by the steady hand of tradition.\"*\n\n## Winemaker\n\nMarc Dillon Leahy is the winemaker and owner of Dillon Cellars. He holds a Master's degree in Enology and Viticulture, providing a rigorous academic foundation in both the science of winemaking and the study of grape growing. Before founding Dillon Cellars, Leahy gained significant international experience working harvests in France, Spain, Portugal, and Napa Valley — a career path that exposed him to a wide range of winemaking traditions, regional styles, and viticulture philosophies. This breadth of experience informs his approach at Dillon Cellars, where he applies Old World sensibilities and a respect for terroir-driven winemaking to his work in Washington State. His stated philosophy centers on choosing elegance over excess and balance over brawn, favoring wines that are authentic to their origin and crafted with a steady, tradition-guided hand.\n\n## Winery Character\n\nWhat distinguishes Dillon Cellars within the Walla Walla Valley wine community is the combination of formal academic training, international harvest experience, and a deeply held commitment to terroir-driven, tradition-informed winemaking. Leahy's philosophy explicitly rejects what he characterizes as \"hype\" in favor of heritage, and prioritizes wines of balance and place over wines built for sheer power or critical score-chasing. The winery's tagline — *\"Rooted in Tradition. Defined by Place.\"* — succinctly captures this identity. Dillon Cellars represents a producer whose vision was shaped as much by vineyards in France, Spain, and Portugal as by the soils of Washington State, lending the wines a distinctly international perspective grounded in a local sense of place.\n\n---\n\n*Note: The scraped website content is largely minimal. No detailed information was available regarding specific vineyard sources, soil types, farming practices, individual wine names or tasting notes, wine club offerings, or tasting room details. This profile reflects only what was clearly present in the provided text. The database lists the winemaker as \"Marc Leahy,\" though the winery's own website identifies him fully as Marc Dillon Leahy.*","somm_notes":[],"wines":[{"name":"Autumnāle","vintage":"2022","variety":"Red Blend","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"Cabernet Franc","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Franc","price":"$62.00"},{"name":"Merlot","vintage":"2022","variety":"Merlot","price":"$58.00"},{"name":"'Stigma' Chardonnay","vintage":"2022","variety":"Chardonnay","price":"$58.00"},{"name":"Grenache Noir","vintage":"2022","variety":"Grenache Noir","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"WeatherEye Viognier Block 6","vintage":"2022","variety":"Viognier","price":"$0.00"},{"name":"WeatherEye Viognier V.2","vintage":"2021","variety":"Viognier","price":"$65.00"},{"name":"WeatherEye Syrah V.3","vintage":"2021","variety":"Syrah","price":"$85.00"},{"name":"Beyond the Pale","vintage":"2021","variety":"Chardonnay/Viognier Blend","price":"$45.00"},{"name":"River Rock Syrah","vintage":"2021","variety":"Syrah","price":"$85.00"},{"name":"'Stigma' Chardonnay","vintage":"2020","variety":"Chardonnay","price":"$68.00"},{"name":"WeatherEye Syrah V.1","vintage":"2020","variety":"Syrah","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"WeatherEye Syrah V.2","vintage":"2020","variety":"Syrah","price":"$75.00"}],"patti":{"one_stop":false,"wines":[{"list":"Bigger Red","wine":"Merlot","phrase":"one of Patti's favorite bigger reds"}]},"visitor_ratings":[],"sample_reviews":[{"source":"yelp","reviewer":"Sara M.","rating":null,"rating_max":5.0,"text":"Marc is a passionate winemaker that creates unique, delicious wine- and he can tell you all about the process if you're interested.","date":null},{"source":"yelp","reviewer":"Anthony R.","rating":null,"rating_max":5.0,"text":"Customer service was amazing - the perfect balance of brief yet helpful descriptions for the wine and the winemaking process.","date":null}],"critic_scores":[],"community_scores":[{"wine_name":"Wrought Stillwater Creek Vineyard Mourvèdre- Syrah","vintage":2016,"score":94,"source":"Vivino","critic":null,"tasting_note":"Vivino community: 4.4/5 (27 ratings)"},{"wine_name":"Wrought Stillwater Creek Vineyard Mourvèdre- Syrah","vintage":null,"score":93,"source":"Vivino","critic":null,"tasting_note":"Vivino community: 4.3/5 (60 ratings)"},{"wine_name":"Klipsun Vineyard Wrought Syrah","vintage":null,"score":92,"source":"Vivino","critic":null,"tasting_note":"Vivino community: 4.2/5 (27 ratings)"}],"events":[]}