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The Vineyard

Discover more about the land behind our wines here at the Redstone Vineyard.


VarietiesChardonnay, Old Wente Clone, 5 acres, planted in 1987
Pinot Gris, 2 acres, planted in 2007
Riesling, Clone 9, 6 acres, planted in 1999 and in 2004
Sauvignon Blanc, Gist Clone, 1 acre, planted in 2007
SoilShallow clay and loam atop caliche and river stone
Aspect5-12 percent slopes, southeastern exposure
RegionWest Elks AVA, CO
Location500 feet above the North Fork Valley floor on Sunshine Mesa

The heart of The Storm Cellar is the historic Redstone Vineyard, within the West Elks AVA. Originally an apple orchard, the property was subsequently planted with vinifera grapes in the late 1980s, the dream of former owners, Doug and Sue Phillips of Plum Creek Winery. Many of these original, ungrafted Old Wente Clone Chardonnay vines still thrive here and form the backbone of our ever-expanding Chardonnay cuvée.

At 5,880 feet above sea level, this vineyard is simultaneously a vineyard manager’s nightmare and a sommelier’s dream. A unique set of circumstances, while each challenging to manage, contributes to the complexity of our wines. Similar to the soils in Champagne, Burgundy, or Santorini, our white, chalky soils are extremely high in pH and riddled with ancient river rock. This soil type, along with an arid climate, alpine desert conditions, and intense sunlight, provides a superb concentration of fruit, laser-sharp acidity, and bold aromatics.

While challenging to create, world-class wines are often crafted within harsh environments. We will continue to uncover and celebrate the distinct attributes of this vineyard, while navigating the dramatic swings of vintage variation common in our extreme microclimate.

The Surface, Soil, and Slope

The North Fork Valley is lined with a series of mesas along its western edge, each of which has a unique orientation and microclimate. Doug Phillips, who originally sought out this property, did extensive research on each of the mesas here and found that Sunshine Mesa was particularly suited to growing grapevines. The Redstone Vineyard enjoys perfect southeastern exposure, with slopes in the vineyard ranging from a 5 to 12% grade. This slope, combined with our elevated situation 500 feet above the valley floor, means that we regularly have a 3 to 5 degree warmer temperature than the valley floor, giving us a greater chance at avoiding frost damage in our marginal climate. We do have two large wind machines in the heart of the vineyard which also help us moderate the weather on particularly cold days.

Regarding water, the most crucial commodity within a desert climate, the Redstone Vineyard has two distinctly different sources. Our primary source of irrigation, which is mandatory in this high desert climate, is the Fire Mountain Canal. This canal funnels water down from high elevation snowmelt to the Paonia Reservoir and then flows through 35 miles of the North Fork Valley. Much of the Paonia Dam, which holds back the reservoir, was constructed from rocks sourced from the southwest corner of our vineyard around 1960, while this property was still an apple orchard. Our second source of water is a crystal clear mountain spring which provides our drinking water and supplements our vineyard and winery needs.

Most of the valley floor enjoys rich, alluvial soil, but here on the mesa, our situation is much different. Our topsoil ranges from just six inches to around two feet, underneath which lies a dense layer of caliche. This particular soil is derived from the ancient waters that used to cover this entire region. It is an extremely hard, dense layer of calcium carbonate that binds together other soils and rocks much like cement. This soil is very well drained and high in nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

The West Elks AVA and the North Fork Valley

Our property lies in the heart of the North Fork Valley, which takes its name from the section of the Gunnison River that flows through the region, on Colorado’s western slope. The unique climate here is moderated similarly to areas in California like the Petaluma Gap in Sonoma. The valley acts as a funnel for air and while areas in California bring in cool air from the ocean, the North Fork Valley brings in warm air from the deserts west of us, allowing for the growing of vinifera grapes at this extremely high altitude. The extreme elevation provides intense UV exposure, but the marginal climate only allows for an average 100 day growing season. It is a unique, fertile “banana belt”, home to an abundance of organic fruit and vegetable farms.

The West Elks AVA, established in 2001, is one of two officially designated grape-growing regions in Colorado. Located in Delta County on Colorado’s western slope, it boasts the highest altitude commercial vineyards in the northern hemisphere, ranging from 5,400 to 6,400 feet above sea level.

Our Grapes

The Redstone Vineyard was originally planted with 23 acres of own-rooted Old Wente Clone Chardonnay in 1987. Since then, many of those original vines have been replaced and replanted with other varieties for the sake of diversification, but nearly five acres of those original Chardonnay vines remain. Currently the vineyard is planted with five acres of Chardonnay, six acres of Riesling, three acres of Pinot Gris, and an acre of Sauvignon Blanc, all of which are own-rooted.

Although many believed that the extreme nature of our soil and climate would keep these own-rooted vines safe from phylloxera, unfortunately, that was not the case. There is an approximately two-acre section of our vineyard that is infected with the root-destroying louse, and it is moving, albeit very slowly, throughout the vines. While we will nurture these susceptible vines as long as possible, but it has prompted our replanting of the vineyard.

In May of 2018, we planted 1,000 grafted, Rued Clone Chardonnay vines on cold hardy 5C root stock. They were the first new vines planted in this vineyard in over a decade, and they were the first grafted vines planted here in the West Elks AVA. Our success rate from this planting was not as high as we had hoped. The unforeseen, brutal heat and drought conditions were too much for many of the vines planted in 2018. We planted 1,250 grafted, Dijon Clone 95 Chardonnay vines in the spring of 2019, and the success rate has been much higher. We have plans to add 1,000 new vines every spring going forward, chasing phylloxera through the vineyard and eventually filling all 23 potential acres here on the property.

Our Philosophy and Practices

We began the rehabilitation, revitalization, and replanting of the Redstone Vineyard, as soon as we purchased the property in early 2017, and the progress continues. Fencing, irrigation, and trellising repairs have all been an integral part of vineyard life. Through thorough research and ongoing dialog, we are implementing effective and sustainable pruning, training, nutrient, and water management practices.

The vineyard had been conventionally farmed up to the date of our purchase; however, we are transitioning to sustainable and organic practices. We make as few passes through our vineyard as possible, not only to reduce our footprint but also to slow down the spread of phylloxera. We use foliar nutrient sprays since the phylloxera slows down the uptake of nutrients through the roots. The high pH of the soil makes iron absorption difficult for the vines, so we have to use organic amendments to compensate. Almost all of the weed control is managed by hand-weeding with a small “push-weeder”, once again to moderate the movement of phylloxera.

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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