Guide to Wine Podcast: Episode 37

Navigating Challenges and Crafting Boutique Wines with Colorado Winemakers Jayme and Steve of The Storm Cellar

Air Date: Wednesday, January 31st 2024

listen to the podcast!

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 extravagent 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?

Grab a glass of wine and press play!

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:

• Meet Colorado winemakers Jayme and Steve of The Storm Cellar winery in Hotchkiss Colorado
• What inspired Jayme and Steve to open a winery in Colorado
• Challenges they faced in the first year of owning a winery
• Unique characteristics in the West Elks AVA and its influence on what grapes are grown
• 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 Storm Cellar winery
• Why Jayme and Steve only produce white and Rosé wines
• The one grape that they will never blend
• The 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
Holly and Flora blog - https://hollyandflora.com/

Don't Forget to Download my Free Wine Tasting Guide! - https://www.corkandfizz.com/free-wine-tasting-guide

Have you joined the Cork Crew!?
The Cork Crew Tasting Club is a community of people that enjoy drinking and learning about wine. It's like a book club...but with wine! Each month I’ll select two styles of wine for us to focus on. We’ll then have a virtual tasting party to explore those wines along with a community event to learn from professionals in the wine community.

Click the link below to get a FREE pass to attend a Cork Crew event of your choosing!
https://www.corkandfizz.com/freeclasspass

Or join as a member and get your first month free with code WINE101!

Connect with me:
Cork and Fizz - https://www.corkandfizz.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corkandfizz/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/corkandfizz/
Email - [email protected]