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The Storm Cellar

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Events

Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about our 2020 and 2021 events!

From wine tastings with the winemakers here at our tasting overlook and chef dinners in the vineyard, to special events at external locations, we invite you to continue in joining us this year, as we celebrate our second vintage release. We are working hard to make sure we can host you here, as we navigate the changing rules and guidelines during this health crisis.

Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay in the loop regarding upcoming events and changes to our schedule!


UPCOMING EVENTS

We know everything is still on hold right now, so we will continue to keep this page updated as events move around.

We can’t wait to see you soon!

PAST EVENTS

Valentine’s Day Dinner with Chef Brandt Bishop at Wisehart Springs Inn

Friday, February 14, 6:00 p.m. – SOLD OUT – Join us at Paonia’s Wisehart Springs Inn for a 6-course dinner, featuring the seasonal and creative cuisine of returning favorite, Chef Brandt Bishop. We will be sharing two unreleased wines from our 2019 lineup, in addition to some of our favorites from 2018. Get your tickets here for this cozy dinner, held at one of the valley’s most beautiful venues.

Fetch Holiday Market, Weekends in December

We’ll be pouring tastes of our wines, alongside our friends at Blanchard Family Wines, at the Fetch Holiday Market. We are the very first booth, just inside the building! Join us on THREE weekends, where you can pick up last-minute wine gifts in Denver’s largest indoor holiday market, held at the Denver Sports Castle. Find more about hours, location, and details here.

  • Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 30th – Dec. 1st
  • Friday through Sunday, Dec. 6th – 8th
  • Friday through Sunday, Dec. 13th – 15th

Colorado Uncorked, November 15, 2019

Did you join us at the annual 2019 Colorado Uncorked event, along with the ten other wineries with double-gold winning wines, celebrating Colorado’s best-of-the-best? These 14 wines comprised this year’s 2019 Governor’s Cup collection, blind-selected by a panel of Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, and beverage professionals from around the country. We poured our Riesling and Dry Riesling, paired alongside the cuisine of fellow Colorado FIVE alum, Chef Josh Niernberg, of Bin 707 Foodbar and Chef Paul Nagan of Narrative Cherry Creek.

Old South Pearl Street Farmers Market

We hosted a pop-up tasting room at one of our favorite Denver farmers markets, the Old South Pearl Street Farmers Market.

Thank you for joining us in the months of August and September, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., where you got to taste and purchase our wines and say hello!

Seminars and Classes

We were so excited to work with Jenne Baldwin-Eaton, Professor of Enology at Colorado Mesa University and former Plum Creek Cellars winemaker, at two Sensory Analysis Workshops in Palisade and in Denver. Hosted by the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE), we led the tasting portion of the event and shared our thoughts, tips, and experience on wine tasting and pairing from our years as sommeliers.

Colorado Wine Festivals

We poured our wines at the following wine festivals over the 2019 season – thanks for stopping by and tasting and saying hello!

  • Telluride Wine Festival
  • Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival
  • Breckenridge Wine Classic
  • Colorado Mountain Winefest
  • Telluride Reserve

Dinners and Events at the Vineyard

We participated with our neighboring wineries in the West Elks AVA at the following events, held in the North Fork Valley this past season. Stay in touch, as we will add our upcoming 2020 events here, as soon as we schedule them. We already have an exciting lineup in the works!

  • Wednesday, July 29th,2020 – We hosted an outdoor Asado at the Winery with returning favorites, Chefs Nicole Carrillo and Mirasol Gomez of the Forage Sisters, here at The Storm Cellar. Get more information HERE.
  • Sunday, August 2nd, 2020 – We are excited to host an al fresco Rosé Brunch at Wisehart Springs Inn, featuring the local culinary talent of the Forage Sisters. We have a stellar menu and are featuring three rosé wines for this multi-course brunch. Get more information HERE.
  • Friday, June 14th, 2019 – We hosted a Sommelier-Winemaker Dinner in the Vineyard as we celebrated the West Elks AVA’s annual “North Fork Uncorked” weekend and the inaugural release of our wines.
  • Friday, August 2nd through Sunday, August 4th, 2019 – This was our only official “open house” of the season, so we hope you didn’t miss out!
  • Friday, August 2nd, 2019 – We celebrated the harvest season with our second Sommelier-Winemaker Dinner in the Vineyard during Paonia’s West Elks Wine Trail weekend, where we paired our wines with the cuisine of the talented Forage Sisters for an Argentinian-influenced, asado-style dinner.

40 people gather underneath the new tasting overlook at The Storm Cellar winery in Hotchkiss, Colorado, overlooking the beautiful mountains of the West Elk Wilderness.

“Colorado FIVE” Dinners

  • Sunday, April 7th –  SOLD OUT – “Regions of Mexico” Dinner, hosted by Chef Duane Walker, at Denver’s Lola Coastal Mexican. Along with fellow FIVE beverage team member, Jen Mattioni, we are pairing select Colorado wines, cocktails, spirit-free drinks, and beers with courses crafted by FIVE’s talented chefs.
  • Monday, May 13th – SOLD OUT – “Upscale Lowlife” Dinner, hosted by Chef Jim Pittenger, at Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dog’s on Larimer. This exciting, themed dinner is all about comfort food done up fancy. Think rosé jello shots, Riesling Otter Pops, and oysters with crumbled Cheez-Its, a Budweiser mignonette, and a grape drink granita.
  • Monday, June 24th – SOLD OUT – “Fire Pit and Beer” Dinner, hosted by Chef Kevin Grossi of The Regional in Fort Collins. We’ll be grilling out over a large, outdoor fire pit at the patio at Odell Brewing Co. and pairing Kevin’s cuisine with Odell’s selection of beers.
  • Monday, August 12th – SOLD OUT – “Knapp Farms” Outdoor Dinner, hosted by Chef Bryan Redniss of The Rose in Edwards. This is a breathtakingly beautiful venue, and we will be pairing our wines with Bryan’s cuisine at a high-elevation, outdoor dinner.
  • Monday, September 9th – SOLD OUT – Dinner Party, hosted by Chef Josh Niernberg of Bin 707, Taco Party, and Dinner Party in Grand Junction. More details on this event to come!
  • Tuesday, October 1st – SOLD OUT – The Colorado FIVE at the James Beard House in Manhattan for a unique, taste of Colorado cuisine, paired with some of the most delicious and innovative beverages from the state. This was such a bucket-list event for us!!

As more official dates and events are announced, we will keep this page updated and let you know the details within our newsletter. Be sure to sign up here to stay up to date!

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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