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Our Story

The journey from Denver sommeliers to Western Colorado farmers and winemakers.

The famed frontier spirit of the men and women who helped settle the country we now call the United States required courage and conviction and the  willingness to leave the familiar behind for worlds unknown – possible riches or possible ruin. It’s the same spirit that drives so many American winemakers today, men and women who often risk all in the hope of producing a world-class wine. Jayme Henderson and Steve Steese are two such 21st-century pioneers.

– Lettie Teague, The Wall Street Journal, Off Duty Cover Feature, 11.16.19

Owners and winemakers of The Storm Cellar, Jayme Henderson and Steve Steese, standing in the Riesling vines at their first wine dinner in the vineyard.

The Storm Cellar is a collaborative vision between Steve Steese and Jayme Henderson. During our many years in the restaurant industry, whether for business, study, or pleasure, we spent most of our time away from work in wine country. And we fell in love with it. We traveled the world’s wine regions in search of our next home and adventure for years, only to finally realize that it was just over four hours west of our former home in Denver, on Colorado’s western slope. The Storm Cellar is a project founded upon a love of Colorado, a desire to make great wine in this great state, and a goal of helping to put a relatively unknown, yet up-and-coming region, on the national map.

Our Beginnings

We began our journey in February of 2017 by purchasing a stunning vineyard property that had both huge potential and the need for a lot of rehabilitation. The property boasts a breathtaking, sweeping view that encompasses the fertile valley, farmland, pastures, and orchards of the region, culminating in the snow-crested peaks of Landsend and Mount Lamborn. The elevated site sits atop Sunshine Mesa, between the towns of Paonia and Hotchkiss, in Delta County, Colorado, well above the valley floor, virtually alone atop the mesa.

The wine industry within the area is still relatively young, but the region is already showing incredible potential from what are the highest elevation commercial vineyards anywhere in the northern hemisphere. The region is one of two nationally recognized grape-growing regions (American Viticultural Areas or “AVAs”) in Colorado and is known as the West Elks AVA. Both the state of Colorado and this particular wine region are ripe with promise and perfectly timed for growth. Colorado’s meteoric growth has prompted a need and desire for two things: unique, high-quality, local products and more destination hot spots away from the city.

Our goal is to fill both of those niches.

The two of us left our lives in the Denver culinary scene, where for many years we shared the roles of wine director, sommelier, mixologist, restaurant manager, and beverage director. Between the two of us, we worked at such legendary Denver establishments as Shanahan’s Steakhouse, Barolo Grill, Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, Coohills, and Cru Wine Bar. In 2017, we set aside our suits and our late-night hours and happily traded them for overalls, heavy boots, and early mornings.

We both live, manage, and share every aspect of life and work here on the vineyard property. We are the vineyard and property managers, the project planners and coordinators, the winemakers, and the marketing and social media directors. We have one faithful employee, Keelan Smith, who volunteered for multiple years before becoming an official and integral part of our team. We have also contracted small crews and asked for volunteers for brief help during pruning, suckering, and harvest. Otherwise, every single aspect of this project is crafted by the two of us.

Back to Our Roots in the Colorado Culinary Scene

The start of 2019 began with an email from Leigh Sullivan, founder of the Colorado FIVE, letting us know that we had been selected as a duo to represent the beverage portion of the 2019 Colorado FIVE team. FIVE is a concept that sprung from a deep admiration for the city of Denver and its ever-evolving and ever-expanding culinary tradition. On behalf of each deserving Colorado honoree, FIVE hopes to assert Colorado’s rightful place in the national culinary spotlight.

In 2020 and 2021, we were selected again as alumni members of the Colorado FIVE team. The honor is incredible, but the timing has been challenging due to the current pandemic. While we were only able to host one dinner in 2020, we are thrilled to share more Colorado-centric dinners with you this year, as businesses thankfully begin to open up again. We have so missed the dinners and pairings we get to share with you.

Find more information on these exciting, themed, collaborative dinners and appearances at Colorado wine and food festivals on our events page or via Colorado FIVE.

Meet Jayme

A graduate of Florida Southern College, Jayme Henderson is co-founder, farmer, and winemaker for the winery, The Storm Cellar, based in Hotchkiss. Before she and her husband, Steve Steese, moved from Denver to Colorado’s Western Slope two years ago, she worked for fifteen years in the Denver restaurant scene, from event planner and manager to sommelier and mixologist. She is the sole creator of the acclaimed blog, holly & flora, which won Saveur magazine’s readers’ choice award for “Best Drinks Blog” in 2016. Jayme is also a freelance recipe developer, writer, and photographer, contributing pieces for many publications, including Grand Junction’s Spoke+Blossom magazine and the cooking website, The Kitchn, where she has written nearly 100 articles on wine, cocktails, and gardening. Before taking the plunge into farm life, Jayme studied and interned in wineries, within Oregon, California, and Spain, and on organic farms, most notably at Findhorn in Forres, Scotland.

Meet Steve

Prior to 2017, Steve had been in the hospitality industry all of his adult life. During his seven-year tenure at Shanahan’s Steakhouse, he transformed its wine list into one of the most respected in Denver, winning the “Best Of” Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator every year that he was involved within the program. He was selected two years in a row as one of fifteen international “Sommelier Stars” to host the Sonoma County Wine Weekend, and he has traveled, interned, and studied in many of the great wine regions of the world. Steve has lived a life based around the pursuit of sensory experience, extensively exploring the visual arts, music, dance, cooking, and gardening. His degrees from the University of Georgia in both sculpture and ceramics led to a teaching position in Tuscany, which was the birthplace of his love for wine and fine cuisine, and the lifestyle that he experienced there still resonates through him today.



Let’s connect

Wine is greater than the sum of its parts, and so is our community. We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out via the contact form below, and we will get back to you as soon as the vineyard allows.

Tickets for our Mother’s Day brunch, featuring a Tickets for our Mother’s Day brunch, featuring a multi-course menu from chef @brandtbishop, are flying fast! 💥  Join us on Sunday, May 9th, at 11:00 a.m., at the Midway Schoolhouse, as we celebrate the mothers in our lives.
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We’ll be debuting two of our spring releases from the 2020 vintage, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!
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Get the link to make a reservation, via our profile, and we will see you there for a spring-centric menu, new rosé, and floral-themed pairings.
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@stormcellarwine
@brandtbishop
@midwayschoolhouse
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#stormcellarwine #mothersdaybrunch #winebrunch #northforkvalley #rosébrunch #coloradowine #cowine #coloradorosé #chefdinner #coloradochef #westslopebestslope #midwayschoolhouse #chefbrandtbishop
Next up in our Somm Series is Jessica Dupuy. 🥂 Next up in our Somm Series is Jessica Dupuy. 🥂 Jessica is a sommelier, wine writer, and author of The Wines of Southwest USA. Join us this Sunday, here on IG Live, as we open a bottle of our 2019 Chardonnay.
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We are excited to chat with @jessicandupuy to hear her recommendations on wines from the Southwest, especially some of her home-state Texas favorites, and hear her thoughts on the evolution of the rosé industry, wine writing, and her personal wine journey.
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We met Jessica, when she was researching wineries for her book, which is a guide to New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado wine regions. She is such a pleasure to chat with, and she has abundant wine stories to share.
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We’ll see you here on Sunday, April 18th, at 5:30 p.m. MST, with a glass of Chardonnay! Get more details on what we’ll be drinking on our last post.
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CHEERS!! 🥂🥂🥂
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#stormcellarwine #jessicandupuy #thewinesofsouthwestusa #winewriting #womeninwine #foodwinewomen #sommseries #TSC_sommseries #coloradowine #cowine #whitewinelover #chardonnay #westelksava #highelevationwine #highelevationvineyards #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #cbdrinks
GOLD and SILVER!! 🔥🔥🔥 We’ve been cleani GOLD and SILVER!! 🔥🔥🔥 We’ve been cleaning up and stocking up our tasting room, in anticipation for the upcoming summer season. 🤩  We are also excited to announce that the two wines we submitted medaled in the @sfchronwinecomp this year!
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🥇2019 Chardonnay, West Elks, Gold Medal

Our estate-grown Chardonnay, made from 30-year-old Old Wente clone vines, is a Chablis-style Chardonnay that exhibits notes of ripe apple and brioche. We whole-cluster pressed the grapes, fermented the juice in stainless steel, and allowed the resulting wine to rest on its lees with minimal aging in used, French oak. It’s lean, angular, and so food-friendly.
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🥈2019 Viognier, Colorado, Silver Medal

Our Viognier, made with grapes grown in the Grand Valley, is in a really great spot in its evolution. Fermented and aged in temperature-controlled stainless steel, our medium-bodied Viognier shows notes of passionfruit, honeydew melon, lemon curd, and freshly cut herbs, with a crisp, dry finish.
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We’ve loved catching up with some of you at our appointment-only tastings, while we gear up for pruning and bottling. We are so excited to launch our new 2020 releases and get after the summer wine season.
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Did you know?
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We are offering extended hours this year! We’ll be open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon until 7:00 p.m., and we are expanding our outdoor seating options.
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And we’ve got chef @brandtbishop here for three Saturdays of the month, and he’ll be pairing small, seasonal plates with our current portfolio!
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We’ll be sharing more details soon.
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For now, join us this upcoming Sunday, April 18th, at 5:30 p.m. MST, for our seventh episode in our Somm Series, where we are chatting our 2019 Chardonnay with author Jessica Dupuy (@jessicandupuy) and her newly released book, The Wines of the Southwest USA!!
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See you then and see you soon at the tasting room!
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#stormcellarwine #westelksava #westelkswineries #whitewinelover #coloradowine #awardwinningwine #cowine #chardonnay #chardonnayallday #viognier #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #drinkcolorado #raisealocalglass #tastingroom #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #foodwinewomen
We are giving our 2020 wines a solid taste before We are giving our 2020 wines a solid taste before gearing up for filtration tomorrow. 💥💥💥 Steve is pouring out a glass of our 2020 Grüner Veltliner, made with grapes grown in Colorado’s Grand Valley.
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We are so excited for this wine. It’s lean, dry, and crisp, and it shows those classic Grüner notes of white pepper, with some complementary aromas of lemon peel and green apple.
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We let the finished wine, which slowly fermented for nearly two months, rest on its fine lees (super-small spent yeast cells) and even did a little bâtonnage (where we stirred the lees back into the finished wine) for added texture and aromatics.
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This is the wine that nearly killed us. It was SUPER challenging to press. We had to clean our filters probably 50 times because the juice pressed so gelatinously. 😬 We were nearly late to a seven-course wine dinner we hosted that evening, but we thankfully managed to sneak in a shower. Grape must is a sticky mess.
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We’ll be bottling the Grüner shortly and plan on releasing it with our fall lineup!
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#stormcellarwine #winemaking #coloradowine #cowine #coloradowineries #grandvalleyava #winemakerlife #winetime #behindthescenes #TSCharvest2020 #grünerveltliner #grüner #coloradogrüner #whitewinelover #sommlife #sommelierwinemaker #bottlingseason
After an Easter break, we are back with another ex After an Easter break, we are back with another exciting guest in our Somm Series — Warner Dowlearn, Certified Specialist of Wine. 💥 We met Warner last spring, via @thevintnerproject.
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Warner uses her voice within the wine industry on her account, @confidenceuncorked, where she shares tools with her followers to “become more confident buying and enjoying wine.”
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She is a lover of small-production and sustainable wines, and that’s where we come in. 🥂 Warner’s approachable and down-to-earth knowledge-drops dispel the complexity that often surrounds the subject of wine.
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We are excited to chat with Warner about her unique wine journey, her upcoming move to CA wine country, and our shared moment of adopting a quarantine puppy last year.
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Tune in tomorrow, Sunday, April 11th, at 5:30 p.m. MST, here on IG Live!
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#stormcellarwine #tsc_sommseries #sommseries #sommlife #winelover #wineeducation #sommelierwinemaker #coloradowine #westelksava #winestagram #wineblogger #cbdrinks #winewhite
Today was a big day for us!! 🐥 We got six baby Today was a big day for us!! 🐥  We got six baby chicks from @thedeltaelevator and even got a FaceTime chick-selecting call from Michelle of @sunshinemesafarm, so that we’d get a friendly, diverse flock that will eventually produce a wide assortment of colored eggs come late fall!
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We are sending out a BIG thanks to both David and Michelle (and for @emilyhartnett1 for making the final calls!) for ensuring we were super happy with our new family members.
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They are tucked away and safe from the cats and Captain Murphy. We are most likely going to be up late making sure their brooder box is set at the right temperature and that everyone is eating and drinking.
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What did we take home?
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1 Rhode Island Red
1 Barred Rock
1 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte
1 Whiting True Green
1 Salmon Faverolles
1 Whiting True Blue
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We are gearing up for another day of pruning tomorrow, but we’ll also be fixated on these ladies.
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#stormcellarwine #wegotchickens #babychicks #farmlife #westelksava #coloradowinery #westslopebestslope #thedeltaelevator #sunshinemesafarm
Join us on Saturday, May 1st, at the @orchardriver Join us on Saturday, May 1st, at the @orchardriverview event space, in Palisade, Colorado, for the inaugural “Sip Into Spring: a Celebration of Colorado Wine” festival!! 🥂
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Get information on the event by scrolling through this post ➡️➡️➡️ and by visiting the link in our profile! There are two sessions that day, and each one features the vocal talents of @ajfullertonmusic and local favorite Donny Morales.
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Presented by Grand Valley Bank, this event is not to be missed! 😍 Get ready for tastes from ten of your favorite wineries, educational breakouts, food trucks, live music, and culinary vendors.
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SEE YOU THERE!! 💥💥💥 It’s a “stock your cellar” moment, where we’ll all be bringing out our new wines for purchase and enjoyment right along the Colorado River.
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#stormcellarwine #sipintospring #sipintospringpalisade #winefestival #winefest #winetasting #visitpalisade #westslopebestslope #5280drinks #303drinks #drinkcolorado #winelover #coloradowine #westelksava #coloradowinecountry #grandvalleyava
We’ve been cracking the whip on each other this We’ve been cracking the whip on each other this week. 💥 Scroll through - - - >  From leaving the hose on and making an accidental ice sculpture and setting out fence posts, to finishing our stone fire pit and seeing the first flowers of spring, it’s been non-stop.
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April is coming in HOT. 🔥🔥🔥
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By the end of the month, we will have finished pruning, filtration, bottling, un-hilling our new plantings, adopting new chicks 🐥, and gearing up for an exciting wine festival on May 1st — more details on Monday!!
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We hope you have a great Easter weekend and set aside some time to relax and feel gratitude for the ups and the downs. This is such a season of growth for us all.
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Happy Easter!!
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#stormcellarwine #icesculpture #accidentalicesculpture #leftthehoseonallnight #vineyardwork #farmlife #vineyardlife #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #highaltitudewine #hotchkisscolorado #northforkvalley ##captainmurphydog #wearegoingcrazy #sendhelpandcoffee #weneedtocloneourselves #🤪
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

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

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