holly + flora

terroir-driven storytelling | botanical cocktails | vineyard life

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The Storm Cellar

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// hello //

I’m Jayme, a sommelier-turned-farmer, and I live in a small town out on Colorado’s Western Slope. My husband and I own and work on a vineyard together, where we make high-elevation white wine and rosé, under our label, The Storm Cellar. I share my cocktail explorations, travel stories, vineyard life, and wine musings here at holly & flora.

You can read a little more about me here.

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// @hollyandflora on instagram //

hollyandflora
Harvest season is hard. It’s that moment, when Harvest season is hard. It’s that moment, when you’re, say, prepping for a dinner party, and everyone comes knocking – 30 minutes early – right when you’re gloved-up and armpits-deep in marinara there in the kitchen. No one needs to see you in that moment. Nothing slows for you. Nothing thanks you. Your mind tricks you. You don’t get sleep. You second-guess yourself. You want to quit. And it’s not just about quitting. It’s thinking about (and really considering) the concept of throwing it all away, while severing your thumb and, somehow, celebrating its departure, and feeling good about that moment. Crazy. With a capital C. Your brain is mush, and it’s controlled by nature. Necessity is at the helm, and basic needs are tied up and locked in a dark room, down below in storage. It’s time to just ride the waves and depend upon the hard work you’ve done in the weeks prior. This caption could turn into an entire book, and it might one day, but for now, I’m off to bed and running through tomorrow’s lineup: 1. Clean the press. 2. Press St. Vincent. 3. Clean everything. 4. Make bourbon-vanilla peach jam. 5. Reset life. The last task might take longer to execute than just a day, but one can hope. And lol autocorrect wanted me to say, “Resent life.” 🤪 My iPhone AI has a sense of humor! Also, I’m appreciating this static, quiet photo post. I’m over the frenetic, pulsating feel of reels lately, of which I’m also guilty. Goodnight. 💓💓💓 PS – I made a roasted tomato soup and a confit out of this garden fiesta of orange. Thanks for the kindred suggestion, @readysetwasted 😎 #HollyAndFlora #Gardenista #BHGStylemaker #SungoldTomatoes #GardenToTable #InSeasonNow #Zone6B
When you already want to make sparkling Riesling, When you already want to make sparkling Riesling, but then BEARS invade your vineyard and start eating cluster after cluster, because the sugar levels are climbing, you start bringing in the fruit ASAP. 😛 It’s been two years since we’ve harvested grapes from our vineyard!! Because of the hard frost of October 2020, we didn’t have any grapes in 2021, and we had to retrain every, single vine, in order to obtain fruit this fall. It definitely isn’t optimal, but growing grapes in Colorado can prove very, well, challenging. It was almost bittersweet clipping them from the vines. I didn’t want to see them go. 🥲 These Riesling grapes are destined for traditional method sparkling wine, and we harvested these just under 19° Brix, which is perfect for a base wine with great aromatics and racy acidity. This has been a personal dream of mine and @big_zen’s since 2016. I’ll be sharing scenes from harvest all week long. I’m covered in sticky grape juice and ready for a solid night’s sleep. Jazzed-up frozen pizza and some cider from @hey_im_keelan_k were just what we needed tonight. #StormCellarWine #HollyAndFlora #RieslingLover #DrinkColoradoWine #HighElevationWine #ColoradoWine #Harvest2022 #TSCHarvest2022 #JohnDeereTractor #WEAREMAKINGSPARKLINGWINE #🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🥂
I’m in garden overload right now. 🌿 As in, I I’m in garden overload right now. 🌿 As in, I’m pulling in over six zucchinis, four pattypans, three eggplants, and seven cucumbers, EVERY DAY 😳, along with handfuls of basil, sage, and thyme. The tomatoes are starting to really crank, and I’m doing my best to stay on top of it all. My mom is visiting from Florida, and today we harvested basil. We put some in the dehydrator, enjoyed some fresh pesto, and placed some sprigs in a jar of water to use throughout the weekend. I’m sharing a link both on my stories and in my profile for an article that I wrote for @thekitchn that’s all about the best ways to preserve basil. What are my best tips on dehydrating basil? 1. Clip basil sprigs just above a grouping of leaves. I’m doing this and hoping for another serious harvest before the first frost. 2. Dehydrate whole sprigs of basil – don’t remove the leaves first. 3. Keep the dehydrator setting at the lowest possible level of heat. 4. Basil is thin. Your dehydration process won’t take long. As soon as the leaves have crisped, remove them from the trays. 5. Store the leaves, once you’ve removed them from their stems, in a tightly sealed jar. Next up, it’s simple syrup for some upcoming cocktails!! What’s your favorite way to preserve basil? 🤩 🌿 —> https://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-ways-to-preserve-basil-221273 #HollyAndFlora #TheKitchn #Kitchn #PreservingHerbs #Gardenista #CocktailGarden #GardenReels #BHGStylemaker
Let's make a spiced, apple-forward cocktail, using Let's make a spiced, apple-forward cocktail, using the beeswax-infused @SILKSGin that I shared in my last post!   This has to be my favorite summer-to-fall cocktail recipe so far. It brings together freshly picked apples, beeswax-infused Silks Gin, and a fennel syrup that's super easy to make.   "Oh, Beehive!!"   1 1/2 ounces beeswax-infused #SILKSGin 1/2 ounce apple brandy 3/4 ounce apple juice 3/4 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce fennel syrup Apple fan, for garnish   1. In a mixing tin, combine the gin, apple brandy, apple juice, lemon juice, and fennel syrup. 2. Add ice, shake well, and strain into a chilled coupe glass. 3. Garnish with a sliced apple fan.   Notes:   • If you want the most delicious-tasting cocktail, always take the extra effort to freshly juice your apples and lemons – there is nothing like the flavor! • For the fennel syrup, watch the detailed reel I shared a few posts back or simply take a mason jar, muddle about a tablespoon of fresh fennel seeds, and add 1 cup of sugar. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and pour into the jar. Stir and shake well, let cool, and strain the solids. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.   If you don't want to take the time to infuse your gin with beeswax, simply sub in uninfused SILKS Gin. Its notes of honey, apple, and elderflower are already a perfect match for the flavors going on in this drink recipe!   Read more about the story behind the bottle and grab one of your own, via the link in my bio or this one —https://bit.ly/3aDLyvI — cheers!! #AD #AD21+ #HollyAndFlora #CraftCocktails #GinOClock #Drinkstagram #BHGStylemaker
Let’s make a beeswax infusion with @SILKSGin!! Let’s make a beeswax infusion with @SILKSGin!! The technique that we’ll be exploring today is a riff on fat-washing, using beeswax instead. In a traditional fat-washed infusion, the fatty element is melted, stirred or shaken, and integrated into the spirit, but here, we’ll be lining the interior of our vessel with melted beeswax. #AD I was inspired by the work of Ryan Chetiyawardana @mrlyan, who pioneered the concept of beeswax infusions, and ever since reading about some of his cocktails, I’ve been dying to do something similar at home. Ingredients and Tools: 2 cups #SILKSGin 1 1/2 ounces beeswax Double boiler 16-ounce mason jar Method: 1. In a double boiler, over medium heat, slowly melt the beeswax in the mason jar. This might take up to 30 minutes or more, and that’s okay – you don’t want to scorch the beeswax. 2. Once fully melted, turn off the heat, don your oven mitts, and gently rotate the jar to evenly coat the interior with the melted beeswax. 3. Let the beeswax cool and harden. 4. Fill the jar with gin and wait three to four days to let the beeswax integrate, shaking the jar and tasting a few times along the way. The beeswax imparts a rich, creamy texture into your spirit, and the honeyed and floral notes of #SILKSGin make for a perfect match in this upcoming cocktail recipe. A fresh haul of seasonal apples rounds out the cocktail, with a bright fruitiness, and I’ll be sharing details on the recipe in my next post. NOTES - - - • Consider this method like a barrel-aged cocktail: you can reuse the vessel and refill it with different spirits in other beeswax infusions. • If your beeswax is taking a while to melt, make sure to keep the water level high enough, adding any additional water during the process. Have you tried something like this before? I can’t wait to share the cocktail recipe with you soon — the texture is dreamy, the flavors are fresh and vibrant, and the overall takeaway is all the late-summer notes. #HollyAndFlora #SILKSGin #Sponsored #Ad #Ad21+ #CraftCocktails #Imbibe #Imbibegram #Drinkstagram #CBDrinks #BombeSquad #GinCocktail #GinOClock #IrishGin #WomenOwnedSpirits #BHGStylemaker
Over 16,000 bottles in, we are well-over halfway t Over 16,000 bottles in, we are well-over halfway through bottling our 2021 vintage, and I’m honestly thrilled at the response. Thank you so much for your love and support and hearts and comments and emails and reposts and winery visits and orders. Bottling season hits hard, and the timing isn’t always how you’d like it to go down. ❌ Bottles were scarce, expensive, and delayed. ❌ Labels were backlogged by almost two months. ❌ Priority went to getting new vines into the ground, in a time-sensitive and temp-sensitive manner. So, here we are. 😛 Here’s a snippet that I recently shared over on our @stormcellarwine account, documenting one of our bottling sessions that we held prior to and during operating tasting room hours. We made it work. ✨ Big ups to @andyc_ramagram for powering us through. ✨ Big ups to @headyleroux for the jokes and the produce and the countless hours of help. ✨ Big ups to @hey_im_keelan_k for stopping by, despite your new job demands. ✨ Big ups to our local Hotchkiss @krogerco for the bubble water and fried chicken. Time for CBD salve, celebratory bubbly, and even more fried chicken. And *now* it’s time to get after #TSCHarvest2022 within the next couple of weeks. I’ve also got to get our spare bedroom ready for my mom’s visit. It’s currently packed to the ceiling with boxes for our club release, and Gail needs room to spread out. Dear God, Please let us have a new and larger and more efficient winery facility this time next year. Sincerely, Your kind and (mostly) patient Colorado winemaker, who just wants to have a normal house that’s not a doppelgänger for a packing facility, Jayme Amen. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 #HollyAndFlora #StormCellarWine #WorkInProgress #WinemakersLife #FoodWineWomen #WomenInWine #SommLife #SommelierWinemaker #DrinkColoradoWine #WestElksAVA #WestElksWineries #ColoradoWine #CBDrinks #BHGStylemaker
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