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The Storm Cellar

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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, the marketing and social media directors, the delivery drivers, the phone-answerers, and the bookkeepers. We have employed invaluable part-time teammates, 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.

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.

How *does* mulching-up 8,000 vines feel? 😛  It’s more like —> what does it take?!!

✔️ Ibuprofen
✔️ Epsom salts
✔️ CBD (@happybuddhahemp, of course!)
✔️ Hot baths
✔️ Lots of water
✔️ Multiple layers of clothing
✔️ Amped-up DNB
✔️ Dogs for company
✔️ Tequila for later 😎

We are excited that our 8,000 grafted vines will be protected this winter, especially with temperatures possibly dipping down into the single digits this week, since we’ve prepped them accordingly.

What does that entail?

The past three seasons, we’ve used our tractor and either the disc or hoe implement to take soil to hill-up over the tender graft line of our new vines. This year, we consulted a few growers, and we are trying a new-to-us method:

We’ve kept our grow-tubes on the vines and dumped compost into each tube, adequately covering the graft line.

The benefits are twofold:

1️⃣ The graft line is kept warm and protected from cold, winter temps.
2️⃣ When spring arrives, the compost will provide nutrients to the soil.

We might have farmer-partied in Denver, but it wasn’t done without some hard work behind it!

#StormCellarWine #VineyardLife #GraftedVines #WinterWork #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #HighElevationVineyards #ColoradoWine #ModernFarmer #JohnDeereGator
We are back at home on the Western Slope tonight, We are back at home on the Western Slope tonight, sending out our deepest thanks for our loving and supportive community – from online connections and tasting room guests, to retail/restaurant accounts and club members, we are grateful for all of you!

We celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday by hosting a Front Range wine-club pickup, tasting new wines on a few of our favorite restaurants, and seeing a DNB show (🫶🏼 @andyc_ramagram) to shake off the season.

We even stopped in Dillon for a surprising satisfactory in-store Whole Foods holiday dinner. 😜 Probably sharing that moment in our stories. 😏

No matter what you did to express gratitude today, we hope you felt nourished and fulfilled and hopeful and loved.

And now we are going to bed!!

Big thanks to @irenedurantephoto for getting this duo of sweet family photos at the July asado with the @foragesisters!!

Psssssstt - - - if you made it down this far, along with several other of our wines, the wine we are holding in these photos received an award this week, and we’ll talk about it soon!! 🤩🤩🤩

#StormCellarWine #WestElksAVA #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWine #WinemakersLife #WineDinner #Thanksgiving2022
Big thanks to our Western Slope wine club members Big thanks to our Western Slope wine club members who stopped by to pick up their fall wine selections today! It felt like the summer rush was picking up again, and we already felt a little rusty!

But that’s a good thing … because that means we’re resting!

We had fun sharing tastes of our fall wine release, we paired them with a personalized “local nibbles” board (tap to see the makers in the photo), and we cozied up around a fire.

Thank you all for being the most amazing club members we could ask for – it’s our pleasure to host you here!!

See you on Tuesday, Front Range family!

#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #ColoradoWineClub #WestElksAVA #SnacksAndWine #ColoradoWine
We are honored that our 2021 Rosé of St. Vincent We are honored that our 2021 Rosé of St. Vincent was included in R. H. Drexel’s “Top 50 Wines of 2022” – coming in at number three on the list – via @jebdunnuck.

🥂🥂🥂

This rosé, made from the cold-hardy hybrid grape, St. Vincent, was one of our most-requested wines at our tasting room this summer, and it’s been a highly acclaimed wine the past three vintages we’ve made it.

🏆 Our 2019 Rosé of St. Vincent received 95 points in the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
🏆 Our 2020 Rosé of St. Vincent took home a double gold medal in the 2021 Colorado Governors Cup.

We have just under 25 cases of this small-production wine available both in our sales-room here in Hotchkiss and on our website – and we ship to 40 states!

You know we will be serving this one at all of our holiday dinners throughout the season. Its dry, bright finish and its notes of cranberry, pomegranate, and citrus peel are *made* for this kind of cuisine!

Thank you for all of the love behind this wine!!

#StormCellarWine #RHDrexel #JebDunnuck #RoséOfStVincent #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #RoséLover
Our first round of club shipments have been set fr Our first round of club shipments have been set free into the world this snowy afternoon. We are sending out a big heartfelt thanks to our loyal members, who’ll receive this special fall shipment, as well as to Todd, our favorite @ups driver, who always keeps us laughing, as we help fill his truck.

Honestly, everyone has a choice to which wine club they subscribe, especially during these tight and uncertain times. We are grateful for everyone who has been part of our journey — whether for two shipments or for six — you ALL matter to us.

The 2021 vintage was exceptionally challenging for us, as we navigated frost-induced grape shortages, dealt with supply-chain delays, learned to source out-of-state fruit, and experienced escalating prices. We are thankful we are still here to make wine for you this harvest season of 2022, and thankfully with 100% Colorado-grown fruit!!

We can’t wait for you to taste the fruits of our labor and the care we’ve shared within each box we’ve packed up. Every member receives a copy of the fall issue of @thirstcolorado, which features our friends @reidmp02 and @seventreespaonia on the cover! It all feels so personal and intentional and connected.

We are feeling extra grateful today. 💓💓💓

Also, we send Todd home with a bottle of wine every time he deals with a load like this. He doesn’t drink, but his wife surely enjoys the treats he rightfully acquires!

#TSCHarvest2022

#StormCellarWine #ColoradoWine #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #Vinoshipper #UPS #ToddRules #WineClub #Gratitude #HollyAndFlora #WinemakersLife
Here is a long-overdue wine-appreciation post, com Here is a long-overdue wine-appreciation post, complete with tasting notes and pairing suggestions, for our crowd-favorite white-wine blend, The DNB Mix, featuring photos, taken by @irenedurantephoto, from its debut at this summer’s Asado on the Mesa with the @foragesisters!

👋🏻👋🏼👋🏽👋🏾👋🏿

Raise your hand if you were there to taste it before it was officially released!

This dry white blend is our most tropical bottling to date.

What are the dominant flavors and aromas?

🍍 Ripe pineapple
🍌 Tropical banana
🌷 Dank flowers
🍑 Ripe nectarine

Along with a silky texture, these notes make this wine both approachable yet complex.

The DNB Mix is a perfect wine for your cocktail hour, afternoon party, or late-night dance-fest – it’s a wine that will bring some life to whatever party you bring it to!

This wine is a combination of five grapes, from three different states. It was truly a delicious collaboration of sorts!

What was the final breakdown?

• 49% Viognier
• 31% Pinot Gris
• 12% Sauvignon Blanc
• 4% Chardonnay
• 4% Riesling

What do we pair it with in our kitchen?

😋 Pineapple and Soppressata flatbread
😋 Peach-glazed, roasted pork tenderloin
😋 Apple and kale salad, with fresh chèvre

We’ll share our most-asked question about this wine in an upcoming post —> “What does ‘DNB' stand for?”

IYKYK 😎😎😎

📷: @irenedurantephoto
#StormCellarWine #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #WhiteWineLover #SommLife #SommelierWinemaker #HollyAndFlora #DNB #TheDNBMix #ColoradoWine
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
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

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

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