• Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

The Storm Cellar

  • Our Story
  • Our Wines
  • Shop
  • The Vineyard
  • Press
  • Find Us
  • Events
  • Journal

The Vineyard

Discover more about the land behind our wines here at the Redstone Vineyard.


VarietiesChardonnay, Old Wente Clone, 5 acres, planted in 1987
Pinot Gris, 2 acres, planted in 2007
Riesling, Clone 9, 6 acres, planted in 1999 and in 2004
Sauvignon Blanc, Gist Clone, 1 acre, planted in 2007
SoilShallow clay and loam atop caliche and river stone
Aspect5-12 percent slopes, southeastern exposure
RegionWest Elks AVA, CO
Location500 feet above the North Fork Valley floor on Sunshine Mesa

The heart of The Storm Cellar is the historic Redstone Vineyard, within the West Elks AVA. Originally an apple orchard, the property was subsequently planted with vinifera grapes in the late 1980s, the dream of former owners, Doug and Sue Phillips of Plum Creek Winery. Many of these original, ungrafted Old Wente Clone Chardonnay vines still thrive here and form the backbone of our ever-expanding Chardonnay cuvée.

At 5,880 feet above sea level, this vineyard is simultaneously a vineyard manager’s nightmare and a sommelier’s dream. A unique set of circumstances, while each challenging to manage, contributes to the complexity of our wines. Similar to the soils in Champagne, Burgundy, or Santorini, our white, chalky soils are extremely high in pH and riddled with ancient river rock. This soil type, along with an arid climate, alpine desert conditions, and intense sunlight, provides a superb concentration of fruit, laser-sharp acidity, and bold aromatics.

While challenging to create, world-class wines are often crafted within harsh environments. We will continue to uncover and celebrate the distinct attributes of this vineyard, while navigating the dramatic swings of vintage variation common in our extreme microclimate.

The Surface, Soil, and Slope

The North Fork Valley is lined with a series of mesas along its western edge, each of which has a unique orientation and microclimate. Doug Phillips, who originally sought out this property, did extensive research on each of the mesas here and found that Sunshine Mesa was particularly suited to growing grapevines. The Redstone Vineyard enjoys perfect southeastern exposure, with slopes in the vineyard ranging from a 5 to 12% grade. This slope, combined with our elevated situation 500 feet above the valley floor, means that we regularly have a 3 to 5 degree warmer temperature than the valley floor, giving us a greater chance at avoiding frost damage in our marginal climate. We do have two large wind machines in the heart of the vineyard which also help us moderate the weather on particularly cold days.

Regarding water, the most crucial commodity within a desert climate, the Redstone Vineyard has two distinctly different sources. Our primary source of irrigation, which is mandatory in this high desert climate, is the Fire Mountain Canal. This canal funnels water down from high elevation snowmelt to the Paonia Reservoir and then flows through 35 miles of the North Fork Valley. Much of the Paonia Dam, which holds back the reservoir, was constructed from rocks sourced from the southwest corner of our vineyard around 1960, while this property was still an apple orchard. Our second source of water is a crystal clear mountain spring which provides our drinking water and supplements our vineyard and winery needs.

Most of the valley floor enjoys rich, alluvial soil, but here on the mesa, our situation is much different. Our topsoil ranges from just six inches to around two feet, underneath which lies a dense layer of caliche. This particular soil is derived from the ancient waters that used to cover this entire region. It is an extremely hard, dense layer of calcium carbonate that binds together other soils and rocks much like cement. This soil is very well drained and high in nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

The West Elks AVA and the North Fork Valley

Our property lies in the heart of the North Fork Valley, which takes its name from the section of the Gunnison River that flows through the region, on Colorado’s western slope. The unique climate here is moderated similarly to areas in California like the Petaluma Gap in Sonoma. The valley acts as a funnel for air and while areas in California bring in cool air from the ocean, the North Fork Valley brings in warm air from the deserts west of us, allowing for the growing of vinifera grapes at this extremely high altitude. The extreme elevation provides intense UV exposure, but the marginal climate only allows for an average 100 day growing season. It is a unique, fertile “banana belt”, home to an abundance of organic fruit and vegetable farms.

The West Elks AVA, established in 2001, is one of two officially designated grape-growing regions in Colorado. Located in Delta County on Colorado’s western slope, it boasts the highest altitude commercial vineyards in the northern hemisphere, ranging from 5,400 to 6,400 feet above sea level.

Our Grapes

The Redstone Vineyard was originally planted with 23 acres of own-rooted Old Wente Clone Chardonnay in 1987. Since then, many of those original vines have been replaced and replanted with other varieties for the sake of diversification, but nearly five acres of those original Chardonnay vines remain. Currently the vineyard is planted with five acres of Chardonnay, six acres of Riesling, three acres of Pinot Gris, and an acre of Sauvignon Blanc, all of which are own-rooted.

Although many believed that the extreme nature of our soil and climate would keep these own-rooted vines safe from phylloxera, unfortunately, that was not the case. There is an approximately two-acre section of our vineyard that is infected with the root-destroying louse, and it is moving, albeit very slowly, throughout the vines. While we will nurture these susceptible vines as long as possible, but it has prompted our replanting of the vineyard.

In May of 2018, we planted 1,000 grafted, Rued Clone Chardonnay vines on cold hardy 5C root stock. They were the first new vines planted in this vineyard in over a decade, and they were the first grafted vines planted here in the West Elks AVA. Our success rate from this planting was not as high as we had hoped. The unforeseen, brutal heat and drought conditions were too much for many of the vines planted in 2018. We planted 1,250 grafted, Dijon Clone 95 Chardonnay vines this past spring, and the success rate has been much higher this year. We have plans to add 1,000 new vines every spring going forward, chasing phylloxera through the vineyard and eventually filling all 23 potential acres here on the property.

Our Philosophy and Practices

We began the rehabilitation, revitalization, and replanting of the Redstone Vineyard, as soon as we purchased the property in early 2017, and the progress continues. Fencing, irrigation, and trellising repairs have all been an integral part of vineyard life. Through thorough research and ongoing dialog, we are implementing effective and sustainable pruning, training, nutrient, and water management practices.

The vineyard had been conventionally farmed up to the date of our purchase; however, we are transitioning to sustainable and organic practices. We make as few passes through our vineyard as possible, not only to reduce our footprint but also to slow down the spread of phylloxera. We use foliar nutrient sprays since the phylloxera slows down the uptake of nutrients through the roots. The high pH of the soil makes iron absorption difficult for the vines, so we have to use organic amendments to compensate. Almost all of the weed control is managed by hand-weeding with a small “push-weeder”, once again to moderate the movement of phylloxera.

Instagram post 2186119591646024072_2207026936 DID YOU KNOW?!! 🥂 We can ship our wines to 40 states! We’ve been packing up boxes like crazy and have already made it up to NY, over to FL, across to IL, and down to TX, just to name a few!
•
Want to give your friends and family across the country a taste of Colorado? Visit our website via the link in our bio and send out some Colorado #winelove this holiday season!
•
We package up everything ourselves, here in our tiny winery, most likely to the tune of a solid 80s playlist. 😎 And if you’re enjoying our wines at your Thanksgiving table this year, be sure to tag us and show us your pairings!!
•
#stormcellarwine
•
We thank you for following along with us! It means the world that you’re here for the journey. And for the wine. 😏 Happiest of Thanksgivings to you this week! We’ll be sipping on some 2018 Rosé of Pinot Gris with our smoked turkey!
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #coloradowine #westelksava #hotchkisscolorado #whitewinelover #highelevationwine #highelevationvineyards #coloRADical #visitcolorado #supportlocalwineries #roséallyear #winemakerslife #supportsmallbusinesses #coloradoproud
Instagram post 2183946517525939342_2207026936 U P D A T E —> While our wines are still slowly fermenting along, the vines have fallen asleep for the season, and our newly planted, grafted vines are safely tucked under mounds of soil and compost.
•
Why do we do this every fall? We mound over the sensitive graft lines, which are prone to winter kill, and then we remove the mounds just before budbreak in the spring. Sending out a HUGE thanks to @hey_im_keelan_k and @carolekang for getting after this big project!
•
What’s on our agenda tomorrow, the ONE day of the week that’s sunny?
•
🍂 Fixing an end post in a Chardonnay plot.
🍂 Removing nails and hammering in u-nails for guide wires in the LBC block.
🍂 Organizing the open-bay shed.
🍂 Tasting the Riesling fermentations again for sugar, acid, and balance.
🍂 Sketching out chicken coop designs.
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #redstonevineyard #westelksava #coloradowine #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #chardonnay #graftedvines #coldclimatewines #vineyardlife
Instagram post 2179418033914932875_2207026936 F R O N T  P A G E ⚡️⚡️⚡️ Our story is featured in the @wsj weekend edition!! The Journal’s wine columnist, Lettie Teague, spent a couple of days with us just after harvest. She shares her thoughts from her time here, along with her picks for Thanksgiving wines from up-and-coming regions in the United States in this cover story.
•
“Regions once considered wine deserts are producing in-demand bottles as a new wave of winemakers boldly redraw the map of American wine regions.”
•
Go and grab a copy — it’s on newsstands today — or login to the WSJ website to read this beautifully written piece. We are beyond honored to stand alongside such great company with some of our favorite wineries (cheers, @dmhparis and @williamchrisvineyards!)!!
•
We’ll be sharing some snippets from the article this week. We are still pinching ourselves! It’s so amazing to see the @westelksava and @coloradowine represented in one of the world’s largest and most respected publications!!
•
Link is in our bio! 🥂
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #westelksava #coloradowine #northforkvalley #hotchkisscolorado #TEAMRIESLING #ibleedriesling #rieslingrevival #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #redstonevineyard #hollyandflora #foodwinewomen #womeninwine #wsj #whitewinelover
Instagram post 2176728901983947420_2207026936 #WOMENINFARMING 🌿 These three ladies right here - - - @nicolemaret and @misshoneysol of @foragesisters and @deertreefarm, along with @hollyandflora of @stormcellarwine, are making things happen here in the #northforkvalley.
•
✔️ Support your local farmers.
✔️ Get to know them.
✔️ Find ways to work alongside them.
✔️ COLLABORATE.
✔️ Broadcast what they are doing.
✔️ Make and share the magic.
•
H E R E —> We had just finished hosting our second dinner in the vineyard. The @foragesisters coursed out a fire-fueled dinner, which we paired with our white and rosé wines, grown on the very vines behind us. Despite the heat, we rocked that dinner.
•
What a NIGHT!! 💥💥💥 A true farm-to-table experience, where only the salt, pepper, and oil were sourced from outside our valley. Were you there to celebrate with us?! Will you be here the next time?
•
•
•
•
📷: @jfierberg of @sora.digital #strongertogether #communityovercompetition #womeninagriculture #womenfarmers #getoutside #farmerlife #sommlife #westelksava #coloradowine #ladychefs #womanwinemaker #womanownedsmallbusiness #nofarmsnowine #thisisfarmimg #winedinner #vineyarddinner
Instagram post 2174556308564643211_2207026936 Safety third — we joke. 😬 We are feeling a little threadbare this time of year. Last year, we were waiting on a product, letting it ferment and imagining the outcome.
•
This year, we have a product to sell, but we still have to manage the vineyard and the website and the fermentations and each other. This is the year in our business plan that we “thought it would be easier” because we had a product.
•
However, it is proving to be the hardest. It’s lonely and mind-numbing and tiresome and scary. We are sending out a huge thanks to the friends, chefs, restaurant owners, wine shop proprietors, family members, and festival organizers, who have supported us — early on — this year.
•
We can’t even express how much your support means. To the people who work with our travel constraints (4-hour trips to Denver can’t just “happen” — it takes planning), to those who took a chance on pouring “Colorado wine” at their businesses, and to those who “get it”, as another, small-but-mighty Colorado company striving to make it,
•
THANK YOU!!! #OTSS 👊🏼💥 We wouldn’t be here without YOU!!
•
And if you missed our last post, go back and read it to find out how you can taste our two award-winning Rieslings at this year’s 2019 @coloradowine Colorado Uncorked event this upcoming Friday!!
•
Hoping to see you there!!
•
•
•
•
📷: @jfierberg of @sora.digital #stormcellarwine #coloradowine#westelksava #drinkcolorado #5280drinks #303drinks #coloradowinecountry #farmlife #vineyardlife #husbandandwifeteam #santarosastainlesssteel #northforkvalley #sunsetmag #RUNWITHUS #TSCharvest2019 #onlythestrongsurvive #supportsmallbusiness
Instagram post 2173804328149919784_2207026936 What are your Friday night plans?! ⚡️ Come see us 👋🏼 in Denver for the 2019 Governor’s Cup award ceremony at History Colorado Center for the “Colorado Uncorked” event!
•
You can taste our two double gold-winning wines — our 2018 Riesling and 2018 Dry Riesling — and the other 12 @coloradowine bottles in this year’s exciting lineup, paired with bites from of the state’s best chefs.
•
We are pouring tastes of our Riesling with Chef @josh_at_bin of @bin707foodbar’s #hyperlocal cuisine and our Dry Riesling with @chefpaulnagan of @narrativecherrycreek’s modern American cuisine — working with chefs is our favorite part, tasting what they think is the perfect pairing.
•
Get your tickets via the very first link in our profile, and we will see you there!! @hollyandflora, @big_zen, @mparish09, and @hey_im_keelan_k will all be there to celebrate this exciting evening and pour out the wines!!
•
Who’s going??! 🥂🥂🥂
•
•
•
•
🌿 styling by @skyvanah
📷 photo by @jfierberg of @sora.digital
•
#stormcellarwine #westelksava #coloradowine #drinkcolorado #coloRADical #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #rieslingrevival #ibleedriesling #teamriesling #whitewinelover #rieslingislife #coloradouncorked #5280drinks
Instagram post 2169992288713174396_2207026936 W I N E M A K I N G (or taking off for a space mission?!) 🚀 One of the necessary yet unglamorous sides of winemaking is cleaning the press. 🙌🏼
•
We’ll take you on an exciting tour!! 😝 Flip through for the behind-the-scenes process, which takes between two and three hours to finish.
•
We (and by “we”, it’s basically just @hollyandflora 😜) first open the three port holes and rotate the press multiple times to spin out the stems, skins, and seeds into a macro bin.
•
We then make three tractor trips and empty these bins into a composting area. Next, we get inside the press and hose out the debris. This takes moving the heavy canvas bladder in order to remove everything.
•
Then we scrub and detail the interior and finish with several blasts of sanitizer. Whew. We do this every time we press a load of grapes. This season, we cleaned it 1️⃣2️⃣ times, snow or shine.
•
We just returned the three-phase generator, which powers the press, so we can officially say that harvest is 100% behind us!! #harvestisover 🤗🤗🤗
•
•
•
•
📷: @jfierberg of @sora.digital #TSCharvest2019 #stormcellarwine #westelksava #coloradowine #harvest2019 #harvest2019🍇 #grapepress #dellatoffola #dellatoffolagroup #pneumaticbladderpress #worstjobever #carhartt #carharttworkwear #winerylife
Instagram post 2167893426636700650_2207026936 2 0 1 9 ⚡️ R I E S L I N G ⚡️ We are shouting out the love we have for Riesling, and you’re listening!! It’s still sweet and bubbling, but it’s letting us know that it is packed with even more mouthwatering, bright acidity than last year, and it is balanced with ripe, orchard fruit notes.
•
We’ve got four tanks of Riesling, each just beginning its fermentation journey. One tank didn’t see the frost, and it is greenish and pale gold in color. The other three tanks are blasting bright, mango-hued juice, thanks to the kiss of frost they received.
•
See our last two posts for post-frost vineyard shots.
•
All eleven formations are doing great, tucked away just under 55°F, maintaining their aromas and delicate nature. Us? We are slowly shedding our rough harvest exterior and are still reveling in the hot springs soak we shared at @avalancheranch yesterday!!
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #westelksava #coloradowine #riesling #rieslingrevival #ibleedriesling #sommlife #coloradoriesling #redstonevineyard #highelevationwines #highelevationvineyards #TSCharvest2019 #harvest2019 #harvest2019🍇 #heroesofriesling
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

Copyright © 2019 · The Storm Cellar | Website design by Peppercorn Creative