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2018 Reserve Riesling

We sourced the fruit for our 2018 Reserve Riesling from our steepest, hillside rows. These were the first vines we pruned and the last grapes we picked, harvested on the fifteenth of October after a dramatic frost event. This sweet, unctuous wine was bright orange when we first pressed it, and while the color has shifted, the concentrated aromas of mango, apricot, and chamomile have remained unchanged.

The intense flavors and aromas of ripe apricot, mango, and orchard flowers are persistent now, but this wine has a long life ahead of it and will mature for many years. This is not a “dessert” style of wine, but it is sweet, complex, and decidedly delicious. Savor this amazing treat with robust bleu cheeses, cured meats, apple or peach tarts, roasted nuts, and pumpkin pie.

The 2018 Reserve Riesling received a 94-point score at the 2020 American Fine Wine Competition and was one of only four Rieslings in the country to receive a rating of 94 points and a double gold medal.

$24 750mL
PURCHASE


Wine Specs

  • Variety - 100% Riesling
  • Clone - 9
  • AVA - West Elks AVA
  • Vineyard - Redstone Vineyard, Sori Biscotto Block
  • Harvest Date - October 15, 2018
  • Fermentation - temperature-controlled stainless steel
  • Aging - stainless steel
  • pH - 3.28
  • TA - 5.9 g/L
  • RS - 43 g/L
  • Alcohol - 12.5%
  • Production - 160 cases


Behind the Bottle

For a cultural palate that so often centers around the joys of all things sweet, many American wine drinkers consider themselves " too sophisticated" for sweet wines. We have finally realized that sparkling wine is not just for New Years, and that rosé is a serious wine category unto itself, but the hurdles for serious, intentionally made, sweet wines remain.

Capturing and preserving delicious, natural sweetness in wine is very difficult. There are many inferior methods, and then there's the problem of too much sulfur. Our Reserve Riesling was made with as few additions as possible, in order to showcase the dramatic nature of the base product – amazing grapes.

Right out of the press, the free-run juice from the last harvest of 2018 was as brightly colored as tangerine or mango juice, and the similarities didn't end at the color. The classic Riesling flavors of apricot, peach, and flowers were mingled with flavors of mango and tangerine, with a unique grassy note that was reminiscent of chamomile and exotic spices. Amazingly, many of these flavors and aromas are still the dominating the palate, but the first hints of secondary aromas are starting to come through and are hinting at delicious notes of hazelnuts and petrol.

We debuted this wine to the public at our very first wine dinner here in the vineyard, hosted in June of 2018 in conjunction with the North Fork Uncorked weekend here in the West Elks AVA. We hadn't even bottled the wine yet and pulled samples right from the tank's tasting valve for the event. We knew what we were looking for as far as pairing, and we had a local chef create individual apple tarts with bleu cheese crumbled on top as the dessert course, and it was amazing. Something about enjoying that pairing while sitting in the vineyard in the setting sunlight was magical, you can just imagine it.

Since then we have served the wine at wine dinners and events across the state and it is featured in some amazing restaurants. The best part is that we're in no hurry to sell out of this unique wine, as it is only getting better and more complex as it ages, and there's no end in sight for this wine. We can't wait to try it in five, ten, or even fifteen years.

We just capped our very first pèt-nat, made with We just capped our very first pèt-nat, made with Chambourcin grapes from the Grand Valley, along with a little estate Riesling. 🍾🍾🍾 We are excited to see how this pink bubbly develops over the next few weeks.
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Hopefully, we’ll be able to pop a couple bottles for NYE! We only made 12 bottles of this sparkling wine, so you’ll have to wait until next fall, when we make a larger drop.
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Catch more BTS on our most recent reel and in our stories. 🎥
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#stormcellarwine #highelevationwine #highelevationvineyards #coloradosparklingwine #pétnat #petnat #methodeancestrale #chambourcinrosé #coloradorosé #drinkpink #cowine #coloradowine #westelksava #westelkswineries #foodwinewomen #femalewinemaker #visitcolorado #agritourism
R I E S L I N G U P D A T E —> Since our last p R I E S L I N G  U P D A T E —> Since our last post, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about the status of our existing Riesling vines and how they weathered through the super-cold freeze that hit a few weeks ago.
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We’ve heard from several neighboring vineyards that the bud damage was severe, and that 2021 yields are going to be low or non-existent for certain varieties. Buds that house next year’s grapes were formed over this past summer and hadn’t hardened off for dormancy, when temps dipped into single digits.
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We are collecting bud samples from the vines this afternoon and getting an accurate prediction on bud damage in the next couple days. We are expecting a lot of damage to our primary buds, but we also know that Riesling is a pretty cold-hardy variety.
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Even the clusters from this year’s harvest that you see in this photo are smaller than normal because we lost a lot of primary buds last fall.
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On a positive note, our four tanks of Riesling are slowly fermenting around 55°F and showing great promise in flavor, acid balance, and complexity.
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#stormcellarwine #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #highaltitudewines #whitewinelover #rieslinglover #rieslingislife #ibleedriesling #redstonevineyard #coloradowine #cowine #westelksava #alpinedesertwine #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker
Is this our next album cover!!? 😎 Nope. It’s Is this our next album cover!!? 😎  Nope. It’s actually the two of us at the end of the most hardcore two days of the season.
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Last year, a dramatic early frost killed our newly planted Chardonnay vines, so we were especially nervous when we saw a similar climatic situation approaching this year.
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We hope that we over-compensated in protecting all of the new vines that we planted this past spring, but this year’s freeze was even worse than last year’s, so ... fingers crossed.
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Here we are, bundled up after mounding up over 1,200 vines with as much soil as we could manage, to cover the tender graft lines, as the snow was rolling in.
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The last row of 44 vines was a test of our resolve. The temps dropped to 20°, the snow began to fall, and the sun set early. We turned up the drum-and-bass and channeled a do-or-die vibe.
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We did the best we could, so we’ll see how we fared this next spring. For now, we are beyond grateful for a successful year at the tasting room but are simultaneously excited for a change of direction and shift of priorities in this colder season.
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#reallife
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#farmingishard #farmlife #stormcellarwine #westelksava #farmsohard #modfarm #modernfarmer #youngfarmers #redstonevineyard #coloradowine #cowine #highelevationfarming #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #damnitscold @hollyandflora @big_zen
We are sending out an incredibly heartfelt thanks We are sending out an incredibly heartfelt thanks to our friend and chef @brandtbishop of @bishopqualitygoods for keeping our business deliciously alive this summer.
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According to current regulations, as a winery, we cannot operate our tasting room, unless we partner with a restaurant or commercial kitchen. It only made sense to us to ask Brandt to create seasonally driven, locally sourced charcuterie boards, so that we could maintain our tasting room offerings.
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We have sold them out every weekend, to rave reviews, during our tasting room season.
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Thank you, Brandt, for always giving your all, sharing your personal taste, and supporting local, CO brands and growers on each plate you produced.
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On the rare occasion that there was a leftover plate, we totally appreciated and enjoyed the love you put into these boards and into so many mouths and hearts here in the North Fork Valley.
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#stormcellarwine #bishopqualitygoods #chefbrandtbishop #farmtotable #northforkvalley #hotchkisscolorado #visitcolorado #coloradoagriculture #coloradoagritourism @coagtourism #coloradowine #cowine #foodandwine #foodwinewomen #charcuterieboard #cheeseboard #cheeseboardingschool #eatlocallygrown #supportsmallbusiness #westelksava #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #thekitchn #sunsetmag
Someone’s getting mighty big. 💥 Captain Murph Someone’s getting mighty big. 💥 Captain Murphy is learning new tricks, learning to love rides in the truck, and trying his best to get along with our cats.
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He’s seven months old and just under 40 pounds. He proved challenging to have around during harvest this year, as he kept wanting to eat grapes, which are toxic to dogs. We were constantly having to call him away from the crush pad.
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He’s learned how to give his paw on command and offer his “other paw”, when asked. We are working on “lie down” and “stay”, especially when vehicles drive by.
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Come by and say hello to this sweet addition to our family. He’ll be here for hugs tomorrow at our final Friday at the tasting room.
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Will we see you there?!
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Visit our previous post for details on our fall release tasting, paired with seasonal small plates, curated by Chef @brandtbishop of @bishopqualitygoods, from 2:00 until 5:30 tomorrow.
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Club members, drop by to pick up your fall release!! 💥💥💥
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#stormcellarwine #coloradowine #cowine #visithotchkiss #coloradostaycation #visitpaonia #visitcolorado #northforkvalley #whitewinelover #drinkcolorado #sommelierwinemaker #redstonevineyard #westelksava #westelkswineries #bordercolliepuppy #blackbordercollie #vineyarddog #winerydogs #captainmurphydog #bordercolliesofinstagram #workingdog
P O P – U P 💥 Fall wine release party with P O P –  U P 💥  Fall wine release party with chef @brandtbishop this Friday!!
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Join us here at our tasting room this Friday, October 30th, for our official fall wine release, featuring the final six wines from the 2019 vintage!
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Chef Brandt will be here from 2:00 until 5:30, serving up an eclectic menu of small plates, each priced around $10, with a vegetarian option! 🍴 Get the menu details in our stories.
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We’ll be pouring free tastings of these new wines during our regular tasting room hours, from 11:00 until 7:00. We can’t wait to hear what you think!!
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✔️ 2019 Viognier
✔️ 2019 Roussanne
✔️ 2019 RRV, white blend
✔️ NV Estate Fire + Ice Riesling
✔️ 2019 Estate Chardonnay
✔️ 2019 Estate Reserve Dry Riesling
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While our spring release was filled with delicate whites and rosés, this fall selection is bolder, richer, and more textural — perfect for the cozy months and holiday cuisines ahead.
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⚡️ Tastings are held outside, with groups seated at their own table, with adequate social distancing.
⚡️ Mask up! 😷 We’ll be masked up, as well, while we serve you.
⚡️ Our driveway is freshly graded and dry since the snowstorm, for those of you, who know what the drive up here can be like! 😬
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See you here!! 🤩
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Can’t make it? These are the wines featured in our fall wine club shipment. 🖥 Visit our website for details on how you can join!
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#stormcellarwine #northforkvalley #visitpaonia #visithotchkiss #coloradoagritourism #coloradowinetasting #coloradowine #cowine #drinkcolorado #5280drinks #fallwinerelease #whitewinelover #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker
We mounded up all 1,250 of our newly planted, graf We mounded up all 1,250 of our newly planted, grafted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines yesterday and the day before, and they are now nestled under 6-10” of soil. We are beyond tired but seriously thankful that we finished up the process just after dark, right after the snow began to fall.
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Temperatures dipped down to 12°F last night, but hopefully, since we harvested our grapes from our producing vines a couple of weeks early, the buds for next year’s harvest are okay and the vines are further along in their progression toward dormancy.
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Since we will hopefully be planting 4,000 vines next spring, we are researching a means for more efficient (mechanized) mounding to protect graft lines. Hand-mounding each vine is simply unfeasible. That’s a winter project. ⚡️ And it’s NOT for today.
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Today is for relaxing and being grateful that the 2020 growing season is behind us.
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#stormcellarwine #thefutureisgrafted #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #coldclimatewines #coldclimatevineyard #redstonevineyard #farmlife #vineyardlife #classof2024🍇 #whitewinelover #coloradowine #westelksava #westelkswineries #harvest2020
We brought in the entirety of our estate Riesling We brought in the entirety of our estate Riesling last weekend. It’s slowly fermenting, and we are slowly beginning to slow down, ourselves, as well. 😛 We are beyond honored to have been on the cover of the @denverpost this past Thursday.
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Did you get a chance to read it?! 💥 @josie_sexton covered our challenging harvest beautifully, and it was rather surreal to see these photos by @wwoodyco from our harvest, which all feels like a blur at this moment.
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Get the link in our bio and hear how our upcoming, to-be-released, 2019 Reserve Dry Riesling was produced last season and how this year has proven to be a challenging-yet-delicious vintage.
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We are humbled and honored and thrilled to be part of the Colorado wine community. Josie highlights some of Colorado’s forward-thinking producers from around the state. We are in great company, and we are only collectively growing stronger.
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TOGETHER.
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“I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I only know what I CAN do.”
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— Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek, “Into Darkness”
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📷: @wwoodyco for the @denverpost stormcellarwine #coloradowine #denverpostfood #denverpost #denverpostdrinks #cowine #westelksava #westelkswineries #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #whitewinelover #rieslingistheanswer #ibleedriesling #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #redstonevineyard #jaymeandsteve4ever 💥💥💥
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

The Storm Cellar  |  14139 Runzel Gulch Road, Hotchkiss, CO 81419  |  970.589.3142

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