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Greetings from The Storm Cellar!

Vineyard Life· Winemaking

27 Jan

Hello!

Our first blog post is certainly long overdue!

We began documenting our journey on social media before we even closed on the property (seriously, look back through our Instagram feed – it has been a wild ride, for sure). Thinking about writing this post has been daunting. Do we seriously try and recap everything that’s happened here since we moved out two years ago? Since that’s not the answer, we’ll share a little here and build upon it.

The learning curve when totally shifting careers and lifestyles, while simultaneously purchasing a neglected farm property with very little documentation about how anything works, is very sharp indeed. It is difficult to pull these past few years apart, as every day has been filled with new adventures, new skill sets, and lots of hard work.

For those of you who don’t know, we purchased the historic Redstone Vineyard from Plum Creek Cellars in February of 2017. The vineyard was planted with vinifera grapes in 1987 and produced a solid run of award-winning wines before falling into a slow decline. We have spent most of our time here rehabilitating the property and getting set up for wine production. We sold all of the fruit from our 2017 vintage to a handful of our favorite Colorado wineries. Infinite Monkey Theorem’s 2017 Chardonnay was 100% from our vineyard, as was Carboy Winery’s award-winning Pinot Gris and Stone Cottage Cellar’s Pinot Gris.

The 2018 harvest season greeted us quickly. We were barely ready to go. Much of our winemaking equipment was put into use the day it showed up! We brought in over 18 tons from our estate vineyard, and we supplemented it with almost four tons of fruit from two other Colorado vineyards.

We currently have eleven large stainless steel tanks up at our temporary winery, ten of which contain the fermented remains of the 2018 harvest. One tank is full of Sauvignon Blanc, and we’re proud to say that our vineyard is the highest elevation commercial planting of SB in the Northern Hemisphere. It is tasting amazing – super tropical and highly aromatic. Another tank contains our rosé of Pinot Gris. It is the darkest-hued wine we will produce this year, obtaining its color from an extended cold soak prior to pressing. Another holds a rosé of Pinot Noir, a collaboration between us and the old Terror Creek vineyard, the highest elevation vineyard in our AVA at 6,400 feet.

We also have three tanks of Chardonnay, one of which has completed malolactic fermentation and is in the midst of oak maturation. We made the second tank of Chardonnay using fruit we purchased from one of Bruce Talbott’s prized vineyards in Palisade. For the last tank, we used fruit sourced from the block of Chardonnay here that we affectionately call, “Lower Al.” You’ll have to actually come out and visit to get the full story on how we gave it its name. We are still uncertain of the exact blend that will arise from these three separate tanks, but we are pretty sure we will end up with two different bottlings.

Our largest varietal production this year was over 11 tons of estate-grown Riesling. That fruit was harvested in four separate blocks, on four separate days, and it now rests as four distinctly different wines. Two of the tanks were fermented dry, each with different nuanced notes of peach, lime, and chamomile. The other two tanks are from our last two harvests of the season. As this was our first opportunity to see what our fruit could do in an exceptionally warm fall, we decided to let it hang. We harvested both passes at over 25 degrees Brix, and we arrested these two fermentations, intentionally leaving them with serious residual sugar. We have yet to determine the final blends from these four tanks, but we are thinking of three Riesling options from the 2018 vintage – one dry, one off-dry, and a special reserve bottling.

This new year has been particularly cold and snowy here, and, while incredibly beautiful, it has generally kept us inside working on the computer. We just launched our official website today, and even though it needs a few small tweaks, it already looks and feels amazing. 5280 Magazine just released their February issue titled, “Colorado’s Wine Boom.” The article highlights the two of us in a page-long Q&A, along with a couple of gorgeous photos that Olivia of Olive & West Photography captured of us this past fall. We have more exciting news and press lined up, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!

For now, check out the new website! We give some pretty detailed information about the property, if you’re willing to read, and we will continue to add more detail along the way. We are going to keep the tone of the site light, yet super informative. This vineyard is in such a unique location that there is very little pertinent research, which means that we are kind of our own “test kitchen.”

We are also dealing with a government shutdown, which, for us, means no label approvals. We are still confident that we will have our first wines ready for a May release, and we look forward to tasting, sharing, and pouring our inaugural vintage for as many of you as possible. Keep an eye on our “events” page, follow our blog, or sign up for our email newsletter to find out which festivals, farmers markets, and special events you’ll be able to find us at this upcoming season!

Cheers!!

Jayme and Steve

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We are Steve Steese and Jayme Henderson, the dynamic duo behind The Storm Cellar, and this is our story.

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Instagram

What’s it like to attend an Asado on the Mesa wi What’s it like to attend an Asado on the Mesa with the Forage Sisters here at The Storm Cellar?!

First off, BIG THANKS to @irenedurantephoto for these gorgeous captures! 🤩  We’ll share some still shots soon. And thank you, @eric.garber, for the lead-in video and for being there at the asado with us!

Yes, it’s all about the epic views, fire food, creative drinks, and new friends, but it’s also about the memories and the community and the experience.

🔥 Have you been to one?
🔥 What’s your favorite memory?

We are planning dates for next year’s summer season, and we can’t wait to share in this beautiful experience with you and the Forage Sisters team — Nicole and Mirasol, y’all are the BEST!! The experience of dining in the open air, while you cook over hot coals and share the wealth of this valley’s produce, is just unreal.

We LOVE you! 💓💓💓

✔️ Sign up for our newsletter to make sure you’re the first to know when save-the-dates and tickets go live.

And thank **you** all for being here with us this last July. Our hearts, souls, and bellies were filled with so much joy. 💓  These moments keep us happy and grateful during the tough times and keep us inspired all year long.

#ForageSisters #StormCellarWine #IreneDurantePhotography #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #WineDinner #BHGStylemaker #AsadoOnTheMesa #HighElevationWine #NorthForkValley #VisitColorado #SommelierWinemaker #ThisReelTookForeverToMake
All of our fermentations have successfully kicked All of our fermentations have successfully kicked off, and we are feeling a little closer toward putting the 2022 season to bed and behind us.

Thank you, ALL, who have - - -

✔️ supported us
✔️ visited our tasting room
✔️ sought out our wines on the shelves
✔️ ordered shipments from our website
✔️ shown up on Fridays for Steak Night
✔️ sent us kind DMs, cards, emails, or text messages
✔️ understood - or tried to - what we’ve dealt with this year

This year has been one of rapid growth, albeit one without an increase in employees, infrastructure, or building-space.

Next year will be a year of reconciling with our changes and making some of our own, so that we can better serve, better preserve, and better grow – together.

We are taking the lead from the vines and settling into a slower stage, one that regenerates, renews, and relieves.

Thank you for sticking with us, as we’ve navigated our business the past five years, over Covid, over killing frosts, over phylloxera, and over completely revising our business plan because of those challenges.

We are hopeful and excited for what’s to come, but first, REST.

We anticipate this slower season with open hearts and creative minds. We can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us! 💓

#StormCellarWine #VineDormancy #VineyardLife #SommelierWinemaker #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine
If you’re seeing this post, it’s your sign to If you’re seeing this post, it’s your sign to drive over, pull up, tune in, zone out, and dance off!! You *know* we love to dance, and this is something we are so ready for!

It’s our friend Kori @djkokolove’s birthday, and she is bringing the - - -

💥 House
💥 Funk
💥 Dance

She’ll be here live, playing the freshest beats from 4:00 until 6:30 p.m.

You know what to do:

1️⃣ Bundle up.
2️⃣ Wear layers.
3️⃣ Bring a friend or dance it off solo.
4️⃣ Get some wine.
5️⃣ Listen up.
6️⃣ Shake if off.

We are ***so*** ready to shake off the season with you, so come and join us for this pop-up, end-of-season dance-off!

XOXOXO, @djkokolove, for ringing in the off-season RIGHT!!

#KokoLove #DJKokoLove #StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #WineAndMusic #SofiTukker #FreakFam
We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, as we shoveled in the very last forkfuls of grapes into the press this evening. We wrapped up our 2022 harvest season with some juicy, vibrant Chambourcin clusters, and some special tasting-room guests got to witness the action and enjoy some freshly-pressed juice!

With two press malfunctions and some cold, press-delaying temps, our season has proved rather choppy, but riding the waves is what we do.

✔️ We are pleased with the fruit quality this year.
✔️ We are happy to work with Colorado-grown grapes again.
✔️ We are thankful we were able to creatively think on our feet and quickly adapt to roadblocks and setbacks.
✔️ We are pleased that the season is ending tomorrow, so that we can collect our thoughts, catch our breaths, and resume a regular sleep pattern.
✔️ We are guessing that we might have some wine with you during our tastings tomorrow – because there is so much to celebrate!!

Here’s to both the end and the beginning of the 2022 harvest season — it’s the final countdown!!

The two of us had this ridiculous song separately in our heads all day, and we laughed at the fact that we both chose this song for this encapsulation of the past 24 hours here at our tasting room.

We are excited for one more day to share our wines with you!! See you tomorrow!

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #FinalCountdown #TSCHarvest2022 #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #HighElevationWine #SommelierWinemaker #Chambourcin #RoséOfChambourcin #ChambourcinRosé #Teinturier
One 💥 More 💥 Time 💥 After showing up e One 💥  More 💥  Time 💥  After showing up every Friday, all season long, rain or shine, chef Joe is back here at The Storm Cellar for one more Friday Steak Night!

If you haven’t made it up here for one of these increíble evenings, now is your chance.

Joe is here from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. or until sold out – no reservation is necessary!

1. Bundle up.
2. Bring a friend.
3. Get a bottle of wine.
4. Grab a table.
5. Order your steak.
6. Kick back and savor the fall finale!!

Joe, you have given us – and our community – something amazing to look forward to every Friday night. Although we are collectively tired and ready for a quieter season, we will miss having you and Heidl here with the valley’s most delicious produce and bounty.

Let’s do this one more time!!

And THANK YOU, chef Joe!!

And thank you, Skylar, for getting these gorgeous shots earlier this year!!! 🤩🤩🤩 @skylartaylorphotography

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ChefJosephKerns #SteakNight #WestElksAVA #ChefDinner #HighElevationWine #SommelierWinemaker #OneMoreTime
Apples. Riesling. Time. We recently picked up sev Apples.
Riesling.
Time.

We recently picked up several gallons of freshly pressed, organically grown, locally sourced apples from @drinkbigbs, via our friend @lawnsharson.

We decided to combine it with some of our Riesling, to produce a traditional-method, sparkling fruit-wine that dances on the palate and doesn’t hold you down – a lower ABV sipper that’s lively and fresh, with persistent bubbles.

We’ve dreamt of this combination for months, after tasting a version from New York at @bin707foodbar. There’s a future for fruit co-fermentations, and we are ready to experiment.

Here goes!! 💥💥💥

Did you get to taste this in juice-format this past weekend?! 🙏🏼🤩💓😎

#StormCellarWine #RieslingAndApples #Cofermentation #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #SommelierWinemaker #SparklingWine
We are cozied-up and ready for this chill. ❄️❄️❄️

Winterizing the vineyard takes some time.

1️⃣ Draining the pump.
2️⃣ Opening the irrigation-zone valves.
3️⃣ Flushing the lines.
4️⃣ Bringing in the sensitive devices for winter storage.
5️⃣ Toasting the end of a twice- or thrice-daily chore.

Now we are after preserving all of our garden’s bounty tonight and celebrating the fact that we made it to

ONE.
MORE.
WEEKEND.

See you this Thursday through Sunday with lighter hearts, open minds, and happier feels.

#TSCHarvesf2022

#StormCellarWine #VineyardLife #IrrigationLife #WestElksAVA #WineStartsInTheVineyard #💦 #WaterIsLife
It officially feels like fall today, complete with It officially feels like fall today, complete with dreamy, cloudy PNW vibes. After a very windy night, we were greeted with a cold and rainy morning.

We are winterizing the irrigation system, harvesting the last herbs and vegetables from the garden, getting creative with storage solutions, warming up our house, and keeping things cozy. 🍂🌾🍁

While this last week of the season might be cold and dreary, we are still open for tastings, both today and next weekend, from noon until 7:00 p.m.

Bundle up and join us under the string lights outside the winery. The active fermentations smell absolutely amazing right now!!

PS — to the grape-growers who might spy some of their macro bins, haha, we are delivering them this week! What a whirlwind this harvest season has been for us. 😛

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #WineryLife
We only have four more tons to go to wrap up the h We only have four more tons to go to wrap up the harvest season of 2022!! 🍾💥🥂 It’s been a blur, and we are *so* ready for a slowdown come October 31st!

It’s been a wild ride, filled with lots of challenges and fast-paced, serendipitous solutions. We are so grateful for the friends, colleagues, guests, purveyors, and delivery professionals, who have shaped this harvest season so far.

Here’s to making lemon drop martinis out of lemons!!

🍋 Our pneumatic bladder press broke down at the beginning of the season.
🍸 We sourced a gently used press in a matter of hours, and we’ve been experimenting with a crusher/de-stemmed this year!

🍋 Readings on St. Vincent came in wonky – the sugars were too low.
🍸 We are making a double-hybrid rosé with St. Vincent and Chambourcin, since the numbers aligned!

🍋 Bears invaded our estate vineyard, compromising our Riesling.
🍸 We harvested the grapes early enough for a sparkling wine!

🍋 While waiting for our new press, three different grapes were ready.
🍸 We got to have those grapes custom-crushed at @granderivervineyards – thanks, Rainer!

🍋 The supply chain challenged us with limited bottle availability and slow deliveries.
🍸 We are loving the wines that we put in those bottles, and we made it, thanks to some great volunteers!!

🍋 We couldn’t purchase another set of tanks this year, and we only have a limited number of temperature-controlled tanks.
🍸 We cut a hole into the north side of our winery and pumped some finished wine into a non-temp-controlled tank, and we called it GOOD.

Our motto?

WHATEVER IT TAKES. 💥💥💥

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #HighElevationWine #SommLife #TSCHarvest2022 #HollyAndFlora #WinemakersLife #Crazytown
#STORMCELLARWINE
What’s it like to attend an Asado on the Mesa wi What’s it like to attend an Asado on the Mesa with the Forage Sisters here at The Storm Cellar?!

First off, BIG THANKS to @irenedurantephoto for these gorgeous captures! 🤩  We’ll share some still shots soon. And thank you, @eric.garber, for the lead-in video and for being there at the asado with us!

Yes, it’s all about the epic views, fire food, creative drinks, and new friends, but it’s also about the memories and the community and the experience.

🔥 Have you been to one?
🔥 What’s your favorite memory?

We are planning dates for next year’s summer season, and we can’t wait to share in this beautiful experience with you and the Forage Sisters team — Nicole and Mirasol, y’all are the BEST!! The experience of dining in the open air, while you cook over hot coals and share the wealth of this valley’s produce, is just unreal.

We LOVE you! 💓💓💓

✔️ Sign up for our newsletter to make sure you’re the first to know when save-the-dates and tickets go live.

And thank **you** all for being here with us this last July. Our hearts, souls, and bellies were filled with so much joy. 💓  These moments keep us happy and grateful during the tough times and keep us inspired all year long.

#ForageSisters #StormCellarWine #IreneDurantePhotography #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #WineDinner #BHGStylemaker #AsadoOnTheMesa #HighElevationWine #NorthForkValley #VisitColorado #SommelierWinemaker #ThisReelTookForeverToMake
All of our fermentations have successfully kicked All of our fermentations have successfully kicked off, and we are feeling a little closer toward putting the 2022 season to bed and behind us.

Thank you, ALL, who have - - -

✔️ supported us
✔️ visited our tasting room
✔️ sought out our wines on the shelves
✔️ ordered shipments from our website
✔️ shown up on Fridays for Steak Night
✔️ sent us kind DMs, cards, emails, or text messages
✔️ understood - or tried to - what we’ve dealt with this year

This year has been one of rapid growth, albeit one without an increase in employees, infrastructure, or building-space.

Next year will be a year of reconciling with our changes and making some of our own, so that we can better serve, better preserve, and better grow – together.

We are taking the lead from the vines and settling into a slower stage, one that regenerates, renews, and relieves.

Thank you for sticking with us, as we’ve navigated our business the past five years, over Covid, over killing frosts, over phylloxera, and over completely revising our business plan because of those challenges.

We are hopeful and excited for what’s to come, but first, REST.

We anticipate this slower season with open hearts and creative minds. We can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us! 💓

#StormCellarWine #VineDormancy #VineyardLife #SommelierWinemaker #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine
If you’re seeing this post, it’s your sign to If you’re seeing this post, it’s your sign to drive over, pull up, tune in, zone out, and dance off!! You *know* we love to dance, and this is something we are so ready for!

It’s our friend Kori @djkokolove’s birthday, and she is bringing the - - -

💥 House
💥 Funk
💥 Dance

She’ll be here live, playing the freshest beats from 4:00 until 6:30 p.m.

You know what to do:

1️⃣ Bundle up.
2️⃣ Wear layers.
3️⃣ Bring a friend or dance it off solo.
4️⃣ Get some wine.
5️⃣ Listen up.
6️⃣ Shake if off.

We are ***so*** ready to shake off the season with you, so come and join us for this pop-up, end-of-season dance-off!

XOXOXO, @djkokolove, for ringing in the off-season RIGHT!!

#KokoLove #DJKokoLove #StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #WineAndMusic #SofiTukker #FreakFam
We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, as we shoveled in the very last forkfuls of grapes into the press this evening. We wrapped up our 2022 harvest season with some juicy, vibrant Chambourcin clusters, and some special tasting-room guests got to witness the action and enjoy some freshly-pressed juice!

With two press malfunctions and some cold, press-delaying temps, our season has proved rather choppy, but riding the waves is what we do.

✔️ We are pleased with the fruit quality this year.
✔️ We are happy to work with Colorado-grown grapes again.
✔️ We are thankful we were able to creatively think on our feet and quickly adapt to roadblocks and setbacks.
✔️ We are pleased that the season is ending tomorrow, so that we can collect our thoughts, catch our breaths, and resume a regular sleep pattern.
✔️ We are guessing that we might have some wine with you during our tastings tomorrow – because there is so much to celebrate!!

Here’s to both the end and the beginning of the 2022 harvest season — it’s the final countdown!!

The two of us had this ridiculous song separately in our heads all day, and we laughed at the fact that we both chose this song for this encapsulation of the past 24 hours here at our tasting room.

We are excited for one more day to share our wines with you!! See you tomorrow!

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #FinalCountdown #TSCHarvest2022 #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #HighElevationWine #SommelierWinemaker #Chambourcin #RoséOfChambourcin #ChambourcinRosé #Teinturier
One 💥 More 💥 Time 💥 After showing up e One 💥  More 💥  Time 💥  After showing up every Friday, all season long, rain or shine, chef Joe is back here at The Storm Cellar for one more Friday Steak Night!

If you haven’t made it up here for one of these increíble evenings, now is your chance.

Joe is here from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. or until sold out – no reservation is necessary!

1. Bundle up.
2. Bring a friend.
3. Get a bottle of wine.
4. Grab a table.
5. Order your steak.
6. Kick back and savor the fall finale!!

Joe, you have given us – and our community – something amazing to look forward to every Friday night. Although we are collectively tired and ready for a quieter season, we will miss having you and Heidl here with the valley’s most delicious produce and bounty.

Let’s do this one more time!!

And THANK YOU, chef Joe!!

And thank you, Skylar, for getting these gorgeous shots earlier this year!!! 🤩🤩🤩 @skylartaylorphotography

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ChefJosephKerns #SteakNight #WestElksAVA #ChefDinner #HighElevationWine #SommelierWinemaker #OneMoreTime
Apples. Riesling. Time. We recently picked up sev Apples.
Riesling.
Time.

We recently picked up several gallons of freshly pressed, organically grown, locally sourced apples from @drinkbigbs, via our friend @lawnsharson.

We decided to combine it with some of our Riesling, to produce a traditional-method, sparkling fruit-wine that dances on the palate and doesn’t hold you down – a lower ABV sipper that’s lively and fresh, with persistent bubbles.

We’ve dreamt of this combination for months, after tasting a version from New York at @bin707foodbar. There’s a future for fruit co-fermentations, and we are ready to experiment.

Here goes!! 💥💥💥

Did you get to taste this in juice-format this past weekend?! 🙏🏼🤩💓😎

#StormCellarWine #RieslingAndApples #Cofermentation #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #SommelierWinemaker #SparklingWine
We are cozied-up and ready for this chill. ❄️❄️❄️

Winterizing the vineyard takes some time.

1️⃣ Draining the pump.
2️⃣ Opening the irrigation-zone valves.
3️⃣ Flushing the lines.
4️⃣ Bringing in the sensitive devices for winter storage.
5️⃣ Toasting the end of a twice- or thrice-daily chore.

Now we are after preserving all of our garden’s bounty tonight and celebrating the fact that we made it to

ONE.
MORE.
WEEKEND.

See you this Thursday through Sunday with lighter hearts, open minds, and happier feels.

#TSCHarvesf2022

#StormCellarWine #VineyardLife #IrrigationLife #WestElksAVA #WineStartsInTheVineyard #💦 #WaterIsLife
It officially feels like fall today, complete with It officially feels like fall today, complete with dreamy, cloudy PNW vibes. After a very windy night, we were greeted with a cold and rainy morning.

We are winterizing the irrigation system, harvesting the last herbs and vegetables from the garden, getting creative with storage solutions, warming up our house, and keeping things cozy. 🍂🌾🍁

While this last week of the season might be cold and dreary, we are still open for tastings, both today and next weekend, from noon until 7:00 p.m.

Bundle up and join us under the string lights outside the winery. The active fermentations smell absolutely amazing right now!!

PS — to the grape-growers who might spy some of their macro bins, haha, we are delivering them this week! What a whirlwind this harvest season has been for us. 😛

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #WineryLife
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

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

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