Drinking Wyoming: Cheyenne’s Newest Wine House Is Fun And Flirty

Cowboy State Daily’s 'Drinking Wyoming' is presented by Pine Bluffs Distilling

CHEYENNE — When a wheat farmer’s daughter met an ex-military man with a beer-brewing hobby, anything could have happened.

Love’s an adventure, and surprises are part of the journey.

“I sacrificed my yoga station for his tap room,” Virginia Erdmann told Cowboy State Daily with a smile. “But then, I’m the one who kind of showed him, ‘I’m like, this is a good wine place right here, you know.’”

Finally, one day, her husband, whose name is Brandon, said, “You know, why don’t we just do that together? Why don’t we have wine-making as a hobby?”

Erdmann’s hobby has always been running. That’s her go-to stress relief. But after a great run, she’s not opposed to a good glass of wine.

And so, it was settled. Their new thing to do was making beautiful wines together. Let the adventures begin.

“It was fun, it was new,” Erdmann said. “We put on our hair bands because we’re Gen X and said, ‘Let’s just go with it.’”

Now those beautiful wines they make together have become a brand-new adventure.

That adventure is the Blue Stem Wine House, Wyoming’s newest wine house, which opened in July inside a 113-year-old restored home in Cheyenne.

“I think Brandon just loves the science behind wine-making a little more than he loves to drink wine,” Erdmann said, smiling. “But you can just tell he is in his element. He’s happy to be here.”

Some Eclectic Coincidences

On Sunday, Brandon was filling wine glasses with a smile. Trays of bread, grapes and tapenade were appearing to go with the wines — something the couple calls the communion package.

It was clear that Brandon was having a good time talking to customers, pouring new wines into blue glasses and slotting them into a spiral holder that elevated each sample up in the air.

Blue is not Erdmann’s favorite color. The blue in the wine house’s name that inspired all the fun and flirty blue wine glasses actually comes from an unlikely inspiration.

“There was this business that was called Blue Stem,” Erdmann told Cowboy State Daily. “And it was some sort of eclectic — the name didn’t go with anything there. There was no blue anything. It was kind of like an Ace Hardware Store.”

It was weird, but Erdmann tucked the curious name away anyway, along with the unbidden thought that it would make a nice name for a wine house someday.

“I did have an idea about, later in life, that maybe I would buy a wine shop,” she said. “And maybe I’d do some truffles or have little things to go with what the people were buying.”

It was just an idle thought at the time, though. The kind that come and go like the shadows of shifting clouds over the land — ever-changing and attracting no greater plans.

Until, that is, she and her husband started making wines together.

Soon, the couple were sharing their hobby wines with friends — to acclaim. Their friends loved the wines and told the couple they should open a wine house.

That’s when Erdmann remembered the odd business name.

Blue Stem.

The idea of the Blue Stem Wine House began to grow.

Country Roads And New Beginnings

The little house at 1909 Warren Ave. that has newly become a wine house was built in 1911.

Erdmann doesn’t know much about its history other than that.

“I think it was just a little house,” she said. “Just country roads, and the beginnings of stuff.”

What Erdmann liked about the house was the cute, little, country-home vibe. That felt exactly right.

The outside world will “demand, demand, demand,” Erdmann said.

But a home is a place to block all of that out. And a wine house that feels like a home?

That’s a place to escape the modern day, where the hurry, worry, super-scurry mentality keeps everyone in a tizzy.

The house did need a lot of work to come up to Erdmann’s ideal. A lot more work than just a little paint here and there.

“This place has not been without sacrifice,” Erdmann said. “But just as Jesus said, ‘Don’t put new wine into old wineskins …’

“So, we tore everything out. We totally took it down to the studs.”

Erdmann would have liked to keep anything old and historic in the home, given that it is more than 100 years old. But its past lives had left the little home “all chopped up.” There was nothing left to save.

So, their restoration honored the spirit of the home’s history instead. Erdmann brought in Edwardian elements, things that felt like they could have come from the home, even if they didn’t.

Antique photographs of a 1903 graduating class. An old fireplace mantle from a row house in Denver.

And an 1890 antique piscina from a French monastery. A piscina is used to wash the chalice and the plate after the Eucharist is given out.

“We had to have city-sourced water,” Erdmann said. “We couldn’t just do Culligan or whatever. So, I said, ‘OK, fine, but I’m not going to have it just look like a stainless-steel thing that says water.’”

Malbecs And Pinots

Erdmann also found a red velvet-covered bench from a former Cheyenne brothel, dating back to the 1880s. It’s there for viewing purposes only, not for sitting, but it’s a definite focal point for the vibe that Erdmann wants.

She’s already ordered red velvet curtains to match that antique bench, and was positively glowing when they arrived while Cowboy State Daily was there.

“I cannot wait to put them up,” she said, beaming. “I think it’s going to look really, really nice. Rich, but cozy.”

She’s also excited about all the new wines the couple is working on. Her particular favorite is the Malbec.

“It’s not your traditional Malbec,” Erdmann said. “It’s bready. It’s doughy. And I love it when I pop the cork because it smells buttery. I just love that.”

There’s a good drinkable cabernet with not too much viscosity, and a full body of flavor, too, that’s a close second on her list of favorites.

New wines are coming also.

Pinot Grigio in about three weeks, then a chardonnay and a merlot.

The world of wine has become an oyster, and the Erdmanns are loving all the adventures it’s bringing about. There’s always something new and fun to learn.

“You learn something new every day,” Erdmann said. “There’s just a lot of things that go into winemaking. It’s neat, it’s fun, it’s different, it’s exciting. Because tastes will evolve, and sometimes you just have to trust the process.”

Trusting the process is something Erdmann learned early on as a wheat farmer’s daughter.

Everything doesn’t always turn out as expected. But it’s usually OK. We can deal with the problems that come from just living our lives and pursuing our happiness.

“This is no shelf life,” Erdmann said. “This is no practice run. You have one life. It may go over, it may not. People, ask ‘How do you know your wine’s gonna be good?’

“We don’t. Just like my father didn’t always know if he was going to have a crop. There could be a drought. But I’m going to go ahead and do it and see what happens.”

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.