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
I’m thrilled to be reunited with the chefs and b I’m thrilled to be reunited with the chefs and beverage professionals of the 2021 @fivecolorado team for our first dinner of the season on Monday, May 17th!! • Scroll through for gorgeous captures taken by @jfierberg from last year’s dinner. We could only host one, due to COVID-19 limitations, but we have an entire season lined up this year, thankfully. • Join us at @avelinadenver where hosting chef, @chefoakley, along with chefs @nataschahess, @andfoodforall, @tajah_i, @big_zen, and @jenmattioni, are throwing a five-course, paired dinner, themed - - - • “Lost in the Western Slope” 🏔 • 4 passed appetizers 5 courses 3 wines 5 cocktails 1 beer 1 spirit-free drink • Only a few tickets remain, so get yours via the link in my bio. 20% of the proceeds from the $125 ticket price benefit the following local-to-Colorado charities: • @firefly_autism @chow_org @peppers_senior_dog_sanctuary • DM with any questions — see you there!! 🥂 • • • • #hollyandflora #FIVEcolorado #cheflife #sommlife #womeninwine #craftcocktails #avelinadenver #5280eats #coloradowine #BHGstylemaker #westelksava #drinkcolorado #coloradocuisine #stormcellarwine #coloradochef
To me, there is nothing like a super-cold gin mart To me, there is nothing like a super-cold gin martini. Give me a dozen oysters alongside it, a pile of garlic- or blue cheese-stuffed olives for a garnish, and a solid “hell, yes!” to dry vermouth — I’m a happy girl. 🍸 • So, a couple of things tonight - - - • Join me tomorrow night on our winery account, @stormcellarwine, as we host my friend and sommelier, Jessica Backhus, in our final episode of our Somm Series. @backhuslikebacchus is a “martini maven” as lead bartender at @delaneyoysterhouse in Charleston, SC. We are going live at 5:30 p.m. MST, and I’ve shared a countdown in my stories, so you can be there on time. • Next up, about martinis!! 🤩 They are a fussed-over cocktail, and everyone has #allthefeelings about their specs. Humor me and answer these questions — set aside what you’ve been told to like, and truly let me know what you ACTUALLY like. • 1️⃣ Are you on team shaken or stirred? 🙋🏼‍♀️ I usually go for stirred, but there is something about a shaken martini that is a texture-match with, say, a crunchy mignonette. There’s a time and place for both. • 2️⃣ Dirty or clean? 🙋🏼‍♀️ I have been *so* into dirty martinis lately. I love the salinity and savory notes. They pair so well with the botanical-green notes of gin, which leads me to my next question. • 3️⃣ Gin or vodka? 🙋🏼‍♀️ I’m 100% on #teamgin. I love the complexity and herbaceousness and citrus notes. They all play so well with the bright aspect of vermouth, which leads me to question four. • 4️⃣ Vermouth or not? 🙋🏼‍♀️ Yes to vermouth! It’s the perfect, feisty match of crisp, herbaceous, and aromatic. • And now to the recipe for my favorite dirty martini recipe: • 2 1/2 ounces London dry gin 1/2 ounce dry vermouth 1/2 ounce olive juice • 1. In a mixing glass, combine the gin, dry vermouth, and olive juice. 2. Add ice and stir for at least 30 seconds. 3. Strain into a chilled martini glasses or coupes. 4. Garnish with a Castelvetrano olive, plain or stuffed with blue cheese, pickled jalapeño, or garlic clove. • And tell me, what are your favorite dry vermouths? I’m ordering @massicanwinery’s vermouth and can’t wait to taste it.
Happy (day-after) Earth Day!! 🌿 I’ve been at Happy (day-after) Earth Day!! 🌿 I’ve been at the computer all day (my favorite 🙄), and I’m dying to get back outside. I’m sharing the recipe for this herbaceous and bubbly Alpine Spritz with you today. • The recipe for this wine cocktail first appeared in the current spring issue of @spokeandblossom magazine, and I’ve linked it in my bio! 🌿🌿🌿 • It’s an herbal combination of Green Chartreuse, simple syrup, lime juice, and dry, sparkling wine. It’s my springtime alternative to the classic, orange-hued Aperol Spritz, which I’ll welcome soon. 😎 Just not quite yet. • How did you celebrate Earth Day? • I was in a pretty crestfallen mood and didn’t even leave the house, much less the sofa, so I am making up for it today by going for a long walk with Murphy and checking on our newly pruned, first-year grapevines. • We un-hilled over 1,400 grafted vines this past week, and we are THRILLED that they all survived last October’s devastating frost. • That’s one measure we are taking with our farming practices — we are in the process of replanting our 23-acre vineyard with vines that are more suitable to withstand the effects of climate change and the severe weather patterns we’ve been experiencing here in Colorado. • What else? • 🌿 We are dialing in our irrigation system for more efficiency and conservation with targeted drips. 🌿 We are planting cover crops of red clover and oats this fall. 🌿 We are giving a 100% off-grid tiny home a test-run in a few months, with hopes of adding three more! 🌿 Once our fenceline is repaired, we are hosting grazing animals to add nutrients and life to our vineyard’s soil. 🌿 And if Steve will agree, we are also borrowing pigs to assist in lining our pond, which, once filled, will moderate the temperatures here. • Cheers, y’all. ❤️ And let’s continue to be kind. To the earth, our friends, our families, and our communities. • • • • #hollyandflora #chartreusecocktail #craftcocktails #spritzlife #spokeandblossom #sparklingwine #winecocktails #earthday2021 #growsomethinggreen #drinksomethinggreen #cbdrinks #bombesquad #imbibegram #cocktailblogger #BHGstylemaker #sommelierwinemaker #sommlife #chartreuseislife #happyhour #wineoclock
That “how it started — how it’s going” thi That “how it started — how it’s going” thing is still applicable. As restrictions loosen up in our county, I am reminded of the hoops that we jumped through last year to keep our guests, families, friends, and visitors safe. • I’ll never forget how both simultaneously isolating and connecting the past 13 months have felt. I’m grateful we were able to use our outdoor space to host tastings and dinners, so that our community could thrive and expand. • I’m also incredibly hopeful for this upcoming season. We have over 15 events, in addition to our tasting room hours, that we are planning out from now until the end of October. It’s kind of daunting, but it’s also rather invigorating, after trudging through the blur that was 2020. • These photos were captured by my friend @jfierberg of @sora.digital at a wine dinner that we hosted here at the vineyard with Nicole and Mirasol of @foragesisters. • 📌 Mid-pour wine blew out of glasses because 35-mph winds went down, just as guests began to arrive. 📌 Edible flower garnishes blew off carefully plated (and painstakingly grown) first-course setups. 📌 Swear words were uttered underneath our masks, as the August heat weighed us down, as we clocked in miles during service. 📌 Beads of sweat collected, as our friends/chefs prepared and nailed a five-course menu over hot coals. 📌 Eyes connected, within the midst of stress, and mutual tears were shed. Wine was shared. Laughter eventually emerged. • It was worth it. • We are anticipating a much less intense year, but we are also feeling the collective pull of everyone’s desire to celebrate and connect. • I’ll be sharing the stories from this last summer’s asado with @foragesisters over the next week and on the blog. I can’t wait to do events like this again, under much different circumstances, and with lighter hearts. • ❣️❣️❣️
I love making small-batch infusions — syrups, sp I love making small-batch infusions — syrups, spirits, or bitters — you name it, and I’ll infuse it. Infusions build a cocktail’s depth, almost like how gin is so much more charismatic than vodka, because of the botanicals that get added. • We are receiving our wine labels for our 2020 vintage for @stormcellarwine within the next two weeks (🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼), and we get to bottle TWO rosés this year. One of my favorite wine cocktails is this rosé-based, gin-forward concoction that gets its punch of color and flavor from a hibiscus infusion. It’s served up, chilled down, and feels like a celebration. • It first appeared in the spring 2020 issue of @spokeandblossom magazine, along with another wine cocktail I created. I’ll link to the original post in my bio. For now, soak this one up!! 💅🏼 • P i n k i e s R a i s e d • 2 ounces dry rosé wine (you know I used @stormcellarwine — went with the 2019 Rosé of Pinot Gris 😏) 1 ounce hibiscus-infused gin (see method below) 1/2 ounce @lillet rosé 1/4 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce simple syrup dried hibiscus flowers, for garnish • 1. In a mixing tin, combine the rosé wine, hibiscus-infused gin, Lillet Rosé, lemon juice and simple syrup. 2. Add ice and shake well. 3. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a few pieces of dried hibiscus flowers. • For the hibiscus-infused gin, combine 4-6 ounces of gin with a bag of hibiscus tea. Let steep for at least an hour, letting the gin soak up the bright, pink color. Strain off the solids and store on your liquor shelf. • Don’t be tempted to leave out the Lillet Rosé; however, if you’re unable to find the pink version, Lillet Blanc will substitute just fine. • Cheers, friends. I’m now going to go to bed at 8:00 tonight because I got *zero* sleep last night. 💀 Queuing up a few episodes of The Crown because I’m just getting into it! 🤩 Probably won’t last long. • • • • #hollyandflora #winecocktails #rosécocktail #drinkpink #stormcellarwine #hibiscus #hibiscuscocktail #cbdrinks #bombesquad #foodwinewomen #womeninwine #imbibegram #BHGstylemaker #gincocktails #ginoclock #craftcocktails #femalewinemaker #spokeandblossom #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.cocktails
Mason jar wine! 🤩 We are ready to bottle the 2 Mason jar wine! 🤩 We are ready to bottle the 2020s, but we are waiting on labels. One thing that you might not know is that every wine label has to be submitted to and approved by the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. And there are a lot of rules to follow. • The wine I’m pouring here is one of my favorite blends we’ve ever made — a floral blend of four aromatic white wine grapes: • 41% Viognier 27% Muscat 17% Gewürztraminer 15% Sauvignon Blanc • We aptly named it “All The Flowers.” • Originally, we abbreviated it to “ATF”, but that did NOT sit well with the label approval gods. 🙄 (For those outside of the US, the ATF is the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives.) Not really the best association to have with a wine!! But we also thought it would be pretty funny, if it got approved. 🤣 • We are waiting on our @stormcellarwine labels to be printed and shipped, but other than that, we’ve got the bottles, the caps, and the energy to bottle nearly 17,000 individual bottles. By hand. Before the end of the month. ✂️ And wrap up pruning the vines. • 💀💀💀 • • • • #hollyandflora #stormcellarwine #whitewinelover #winemakerlife #winerylife #sommelierwinemaker #westelksava #coloradowine #cowine #foodwinewomen #womeninwine #femalewinemaker #cbdrinks #wineenthusiast #sommlife #wineblogger
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