Leony's Cellars

We are all set up in Enumclaw for the summer and the town is slighter bigger then “small town USA” but just barely. Haha!! I couldn’t wait until the rain abated so I could walk around and see what all there was to see!! Let me tell you, I was not prepared to suffer so many days [like 17 days straight!!] of gray, overcast, and rainy weather conditions. I questioned my sanity and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into!! LOL This first summer I was commuting to Seattle for an assignment at University of Washington… affectionately known as UW. [I always thought it sound like youdub.. haha] Before you can ask, I'll just say that no, I am not a Grey’s Anatomy fan.

I remember the nice long drive and working three 12-hour shifts, M-W-F [not really as bad is it sounds.. kinda] and I finally had a day off when the weather was clear!! We were able to head into Enumclaw to walk around without the need for an umbrella, and that we mostly walked down the main street. They had public parking areas in the center of town, so it was pretty easy to walk any which way you wanted to get to your destination. We walked one way and passed a little tasting room that was closed… then we walked the other way and we came across Leony’s Cellars!! It was kind of hard to miss, as you can see from the picture below.

The Leony's tasting room here in Enumclaw is actually not the first boutique winery owned by Sandi and Salvatore Moreno. It all started several years earlier in 2015, when Sandi was looking for a wine barrel to make a table for the backyard. She was searching on craigslist and came across a wine tasting room listed for sale in Cashmere, WA. After exchanging several emails with the seller, Sandi and Salvatore decided to make the three-and-a-half-hour trip from Puyallup in order to see the tasting room in person. Needless to say, they were hooked!!

The seller agreed to stay on for one year to teach the Moreno’s how to make wine from start to finish. How could they not "take the leap" with an offer like this!? They produced their first vintage wine in 2015, and changed the name of the winery to Leony’s Cellars. I was trying to find more details about this little wineries beginnings, but the previous owner's name is never revealed. I did discover that whatever the sellers name is, that's what the winery was called prior to the Moreno’s taking over. I’m sure someone who lives in Cashmere would be able to shed some light on this mystery!!

So how did they come up with the name "Leony’s" you may ask?? Well, that is what Sandi’s middle name happens to be. It was given to her in honor of her Great-Grandmother, Alta Leony’s. You see, it’s not “Leony” that they added the possessive "‘s" to, meaning ownership of the Cellars as I first thought. Her name is actually Leony’s, I remember asking about this when Shawn and I were there for the first time. It is unique for sure, just like their beautiful lioness wine labels [since Leony’s means Lioness’s] and their delicious wines!!

Being new to the wine scene and now winery owners, the Moreno’s decided that they needed to gain more knowledge. They wanted to learn more about making wine, especially if they were going to increase their annual production to where they wanted it to be. They both attend the Wine Academy at South Seattle Community College in 2016. Fast forward to the year 2018, and this is when Leony’s Cellars opened their second location in Enumclaw, WA. [and I’m so happy they did!!] Leony’s Cellars is now a family owned and run winery that specializes in making small batch wines.

They take pride in using grapes from all over Washington to "bring joy and great wine to your table" as well as, bringing family and friends together to make lasting memories. As you can see from picture above with my girl Andrea White and I [in the barrel room] that I've been to Leony's more than once!! To quote my good friend Dianne Breen, [who said when she visited Leony's with me on yet another visit] "I only drink on two occasions: when I am thirsty and when I am not.” Hahaha!!

I'm super excited about another Enumclaw winery that Wine with Wixy will be visiting next week!! It is my favorite [yes I said favorite!!] Enumclaw winery and one of my favorites of all time!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!