• Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

The Storm Cellar

  • Our Wines
  • Our Story
  • Find Us
  • Wine Clubs
  • Events
  • The Vineyard
  • Press
  • Journal

2018 Chardonnay

The Storm Cellar 2018 Chardonnay is a 50-50 blend of fruit from estate-grown Old Wente clone vines planted in 1987 here at the Redstone Vineyard and from select vineyard blocks at Talbott Farms on East Orchard Mesa in Palisade, Colorado. This Chardonnay has tropical fruit aromas, a honeyed texture, balanced acidity, and soft nuances of French oak.

This Chardonnay is a true taste of Colorado. This 50-50 blend of fruit from the state’s two official AVAs, Grand Valley and the West Elks. The riper, tropical fruit from Palisade is a beautiful counterpoint to the leaner, sharper fruit harvested from our estate vineyard. We opted to showcase the fruit and terroir is a less buttery, less oaky, more food-friendly style of Chardonnay.

The wine is elegant, refined, and lighter in style than most domestic Chardonnays. it is balanced on the palate, with notes of apples, pears, and pineapple, supported with subtle aromas and flavors of caramel and butterscotch. This wine pairs wonderfully with a wide range of foods, from crab and lobster, to grilled chicken and vegetables.

The 2018 Chardonnay was awarded a silver medal at the 2019 Colorado Governor’s Cup.

$25 750mL
PURCHASE


Wine Specs

  • Variety - 100% Chardonnay
  • Clone - Old Wente
  • AVAs - West Elks and Grand Valley
  • Vineyards - Redstone Vineyard (Lower Al, LBC, and Wente Blocks) and Talbott Farms on East Orchard Mesa
  • Harvest Dates - September 23 and 24, 2018
  • Fermentation - temperature-controlled stainless steel, 30% malolactic fermentation
  • Aging - 30% new, light-toast French oak; 70% stainless steel
  • Brix - 24.2º
  • pH - 3.60
  • TA - 5.7 g/L
  • Alcohol - 13.8%
  • Production - 300 cases
  • Awards - Silver Medal 2019 Colorado Governor's Cup Competition


Paired Playlist

Record icon.

DJ Koko Love (Kori Stanton of KVNF) has curated a playlist to match the personality of our 2018 Dry Riesling. It's two hours of electronically charged, upbeat, super-fresh tracks that pairs perfectly with the sharp, racy, punchy notes of our Dry Riesling.

"Chardonnay Sunshine" | Listen on iTunes or Spotify.



Behind the Bottle

The Chardonnay here at the Redstone Vineyard is what drew us out here, when we first visited the property in May of 2016. The vineyard still has thriving plantings of Old Wente clone vines, planted in the mid-1980s. This has long been one of our favorite clones of Chardonnay, noted for its tropical tones and small, concentrated clusters. For The Storm Cellar 2018 Chardonnay, we wanted to give a shout-out, not only to our home base here in the West Elks AVA, but also to Colorado wine, as a whole. We decided to craft this wine with fruit sourced in equal parts from Colorado's two AVAs, the West Elks and Grand Valley. It's truly a taste of the unique climates these two regions offer for winemaking.

The months leading up to harvest were sunny, free of rain, and unseasonably hot, and the weather during harvest was exactly the same. The daily temperature hovered in the upper 90ºs, while the evening temperatures dipped into the lower 60ºs. These higher temperatures pushed the ripeness and phenolics of the Chardonnay, lending to more intense and riper fruit aromas.

We picked the grapes here at the Redstone Vineyard over the course of two days and fermented each day separately. We received the fruit from Palisade shortly thereafter and pressed it into its own tank. We selected one of the two tanks from our vineyard to go through malolatic fermentation, giving it a softer, richer texture and flavor, and we chose this same tank to undergo aging in new, French oak.

This Chardonnay has a special place in our hearts not only because it is one of our favorite styles of wine, but also because we decided to tie the knot among the old, dormant Chardonnay vines on a snowy day this past February! We surprised both of our families with the news and took off on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. We'll be celebrating our anniversary with one of our 2018 Chardonnays come next year!

A big thanks goes out to all of our Denver friends, restaurant industry family, and teammates who helped us with the Chardonnay harvest! We couldn't have done it without you. Eugene, Nathan, Jeri, Serena, and Keelan, you all rock!

Episode FIVE in our Somm Series is going down this Episode FIVE in our Somm Series is going down this Sunday, and we are beyond excited to host our friend Kendra Anderson, @swirlgirldenver, as we taste our 2019 RRV white blend together.
•
Kendra is a force within the Colorado food and wine scene, and she is an accomplished writer (you’ve probably read her work over the years at @denverwestword), chef, bar owner (@barhelixdenver 🥃), sommelier, and entrepreneur.
•
We will talk about her strong role and journey within the #blackwomeninwine world; her favorite classic cocktail, the Negroni; our shared stories as members of the @fivecolorado team; and what’s on the horizon for Kendra in 2021.
•
We can’t wait! 🥂
•
Join us here on IG Live at 5:30 p.m. MST, this Sunday, March 28th!
•
Bonus points for making a Negroni with us! Grab some gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, and gear up for some solid wine and cocktail conversation. 🥃🥃🥃
•
•
•
•
#TSC_sommseries #sommseries #stormcellarwine #swirlgirldenver #kendraanderson #denversommelier #womeninwine #foodwinewomen #cbdrinks #sommlife #virtualwinetasting #coloradowine #cowine #westelksava
Cozy, drizzly (let’s be real — SLOSHY) morning Cozy, drizzly (let’s be real — SLOSHY) mornings call for computer work and winery work. ❄️ We are thrilled for the moisture, but we are so anxious to finish trellis repair, so we can set the season off right!
•
H E R E —>
•
This is the view from the northwest corner of the vineyard, overlooking the Riesling vines that provided fruit for our 2018 and 2019 Reserve Riesling.
•
This plot slopes at a 12% grade, and it’s the first spot in the vineyard where the snow melts. We prune these vines first and pick the fruit last, giving it the lengthiest exposure and growing season possible.
•
We are pruning these vines on MONDAY, after we wrap up the weekend winery chores and another Somm Series episode on Sunday night.
•
✂️✂️✂️
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #pruningseason #highelevationvineyards #highelevationwine #sommelierwinemaker #westelksava #coloradowine #cowine #vineyardvines #vineyardlife
Dog has been our copilot over the past few days, a Dog has been our copilot over the past few days, as we’ve done a lot of vineyard work. 🚜 We might have missed #nationalpuppyday this week, but it’s every day with you, Captain Murphy!
•
This little vineyard dog turns one on Monday, and it’s been a wild ride with this sweet and energetic border collie. He’s really come into his own this year — catching vineyard varmints, riding shotgun in the Gator, and welcoming guests with enthusiasm.
•
And dirty paws. 🐾 
•
We’re still working on that one!! 😜 Drop a 🐾 below, if Murphy’s ever given you a “more-than-exuberant” greeting on a visit here!
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #captainmurphydog #vineyarddog #winerydogs #vineyardlife #johndeere #johndeeregator #dogismycopilot #ridingshotgun #rideordie #bordercolliesoftheworld #bordercolliesofinstagram #dogbesties #coloradowine #westelksava
For episode four in our Somm Series, we’ll be br For episode four in our Somm Series, we’ll be broadcasting live from @bin707foodbar, as we chat with chef-somm-owner, Josh Niernberg, and beverage director, Barbara Graham!
•
Join us tomorrow, as we taste our Fire + Ice Riesling together, at one of Colorado’s most noteworthy restaurants. Josh was on the @fivecolorado team with us in 2019, and Bin 707 Foodbar is a pioneer in sustainability, a strong supporter of local producers, and a definitive force in shaping the direction of Colorado cuisine.
•
WHEN:
Sunday, March 21st, 2021
•
TIME:
5:30 p.m. MST
•
See you tomorrow here on IG Live! 🥂
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #sommseries #TSC_sommseries #sommlife #virtualwinetasting #winetasting #westslopebestslope #sharegj #coloradocuisine #FIVEcolorado #cheflife #coloradochef #womeninwine #foodwinewomen #coloradowine #cowine #westelksava
We definitely got our steps in today. 👣 We fini We definitely got our steps in today. 👣 We finished removing the last of the old vines from our new Pinot Noir plot, we cut out our old fencing wire to prep for augering post holes tomorrow, and we kickstarted our early spring pruning!
•
Even though today is @hollyandflora’s birthday, because the season is in already hastening its pace, we celebrated by getting in a solid day’s worth of work. It felt good. 😎
•
Now for some birthday surf-and-turf with a sexy bottle of Brunello di Montalcino (we are going with the 2010 Sassetti Riserva!!) — and an early night, since tomorrow is all-day-fence-work. See you mañana, @cedarspringsfarm! ⚡️ We are READY!!
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #vineyardlife #vineyardvines #pinotnoir #westelksava #westelkswineries #workhardplayhard #winerylife #farmsohard
Join us next Saturday, for a live cooking demo by Join us next Saturday, for a live cooking demo by chef @brandtbishop, featuring one of Brandt’s most personally meaningful dishes—gnocchi—benefitting @slowfoodwesternslope! 
•
Proceeds from the demo will purchase “pay-forward” full CSA shares to alleviate hunger here in the North Fork Valley, with support from @thistlewhistlefarm’s Mark Waltermire.
•
We’ll be pairing and tasting through our 2019 RRV white blend, alongside Brandt’s butternut squash gnocchi, with caramelized cipollini onions, crispy delicata, fresh thyme, Meyer lemon, and browned butter.
•
Purchase tickets via the link in our profile, and if you’d like to give, but are unable to make the event, donations are welcome!
•
We can’t wait to get in the kitchen with Brandt and share this delicious pairing together for such a great cause.
•
WHEN:
Saturday, March 27, 2021 🗓
•
TIME:
4:00 p.m. MST 🥂
•
WHERE:
Zoom link provided 🖥
•
•
•
•
📷: @nfvjmbrett #slowfood #slowfoodwesternslope #slowfooddenver #stormcellarwine #winepairing #virtualcookingdemo #virtualwinetasting #westslopebestslope #westelksava #cheflife #chefbrandtbishop #coloradowine #cowine
Today is the official birthday of our favorite gra Today is the official birthday of our favorite grape, Riesling. 🥂 Swipe through for a few of our favorite shots from our 2019 Riesling harvest.
•
We’ll be cracking a bottle of our 2019 Dry Riesling tomorrow night for our third episode in our Somm Series, featuring a very social guest, @clarantula (Clara Klein) of the Frasca Hospitality Group.
•
The timing for #RieslingBirthday couldn’t be better. We’ll see you here tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. MST — get a reminder for it in our stories tonight!
•
And chill that Riesling down!
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #riesling #rieslinglover #TSCharvest2019 #sommlife #claraklein #sommelierwinemaker #westelksava #westelkswineries #northforkvalley #harvest2019 #winelover #winetasting #internationalrieslingday #coloradowine #cowine #coloradoriesling #5280drinks #drinkcolorado
Next up in episode three of our Somm Series —> w Next up in episode three of our Somm Series —> we welcome Clara Klein @clarantula, head sommelier at James Beard Award-winning Frasca Hospitality Group and cofounder of the recently launched Ayokay Doughnuts!
•
Clara is a household name within Colorado’s somm community, and she has honed her skills at some of the country’s top restaurants — @frascafoodwine, @thelittlenell, and @mourad_sf.
•
And she is a fellow #RieslingLover 🥂
•
Chill down a bottle of our 2019 Dry Riesling, and tune in this Sunday, March 14th, at 5:30 p.m. MST.
•
Clara has a refreshing, lively presence, which translates into how she approaches wine. She’s been neck-deep in the Colorado restaurant scene this past year, and we can’t wait to hear stories about @sundayvinyldenver and learn more of what’s on the culinary horizon. Also, DOUGHNUTS. 🍩😍
•
•
•
•
#stormcellarwine #TSC_sommseries #sommseries #winestories #sommlife #coloradowine #cowine #ibleedriesling #sommelier #virtualwinetasting #foodwinewomen #CBdrinks #womeninwine #coloradosommelier #claraklein
#STORMCELLARWINE

            

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

Copyright © 2021 · The Storm Cellar | Website design by Peppercorn Creative