Ep 37 How One Colorado Winery is Navigating Challenges and Crafting Boutique Wines

The Cork & Fizz Guide to Wine

What’s it like owning a winery in Colorado and growing grapes at 6,000 feet above sea?

For Jayme and Steve it’s been fraught with surprising challenges and extravagant wins!

Today I’m talking with Colorado winemakers and founders of The Storm Cellar, Jayme Henderson and Steve Steese.

The Storm Cellar is a boutique winery, located in Hotchkiss, Colorado, specializing in high-quality, aromatic White and Rosé wines.

They are a husband-and-wife team with a shared goal of showcasing the attributes of their unique, alpine-desert terroir, bringing the West Elks AVA into the national wine spotlight, and becoming a premier destination for an elevated Colorado wine experience.

But they’ve certainly run into a couple challenges. When Jayme and Steve purchased their winery they had no way of knowing that 4 months later a Phylloxera infestation would have them replanting their vineyard.

Or that two bears would invade their vineyard in 2022 and eat their grapes! But Jayme and Steve managed to turn this into a positive thing because they were able to harvest the remaining grapes early to create a sparkling wine!

And of course, they also have to deal with the unique microclimate of Colorado that involves both desert and below freezing temperatures which present unique challenges all on its own!

Are you ready to dive in and discover the world of winemaking with Jayme and Steve, and explore the unique characteristics of Colorado wines, their passion for blending and their vision for a thriving wine industry?

And if you would like to try the unique wines from The Storm Cellar head to https://stormcellarwine.com and use the discount code STORMLOVE10 for 10% off any three or more bottles!

Episode Highlights:

• Colorado’s unique microclimate and narrow growing window which influences grape varieties
• Challenges faced due to the region’s vulnerability at 6,000 feet above sea level
• How they dealt with Phylloxera 4 months after purchasing the winery
• Why they only produce white and Rosé wines
• The one grape they will never blend
• Challenges of working with high acid content in hybrid grape varieties
• How they blend hybrid wines with other varietals to enhance aromatics and texture

Connect with Jayme and Steve

The Storm Cellar - https://stormcellarwine.com

Instagram - @stormcellarwine

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