photocaves

Our Caves

The 130-year-old wine caves at Storybook Mountain Vineyard were dug by Chinese laborers at the direction of Adam and Jacob Grimm, brothers who founded Grimm Vineyards and Wine Vaults. The earliest public reference to the caves was in a publication called the Viticulturist, on July 8, 1889: “Mr. Grimm is now engaged in driving two tunnels 10 x 100 feet into the mountainside for a cellar, where he intends to store and age his wines.”

A third tunnel was added at a later date, and the three connected. A round room was dug out between two of the tunnels, which Grimm Vineyards used as a riddling room for aging its sparkling wines.

The caves are dug into rhyolite rock, volcanic in origin, which provide a consistent, year-round temperature between 55 and 60 degrees F., with high humidity. These conditions create an ideal natural environment for barrel aging Storybook Mountain wines. In addition to storing more than 400 French, American and Hungarian oak barrels, our historic caves also serve as the tasting venue for visitors to Storybook Mountain.