It was announced that Slate Mill Wine Collective was recently purchased by Heath Family Brands and will become Invention Vineyards. Before the purchase, Heath Family Brands included Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars, and Heath Vineyards.
Owner Brian Heath commented about the purchase, “There are a handful of compelling reasons for the purchase. The property features 30 acres of planted vineyards and 30,000 sq ft under roof, including a large tasting complex featuring 65,000 gallons of tank space (with some room to grow), bottling line, and a barrel room that can hold 2,000 barrels. Plus, it is the closest full-production winery to Fredericksburg that features a large working vineyard. We expand our presence to Hwy 16 and look forward to working with Augusta Vin to develop another wine road in the area.
“One of the benefits of having a larger operation is we can redirect some of our cellar toward this new project and build a pretty good portfolio of Texas wines quickly. For instance, when we knew this was a possibility, we picked up an extra 10 tons of 2022 Mourvèdre for an early pick for a new IV rosé. Another example is 3,000 gallons of a beautiful 2021 Tempranillo we have aging that was not specifically dedicated to a program for other labels. We intend to have about 12 total wine programs at IV. This bottling season will be 10,000 cases and we plan to bottle 15-20,000 for next year.”
When asked if the change takes immediately, Heath said, “Yes. We plan to present it as Invention Vineyards (formerly Slate Mill Wine Collective) from the start. The new website will launch within the next 30 days. We will begin bottling under the IV label this Spring. The architects are almost complete with renovation plans for the tasting room, entry, parking, and landscape.”
Owner Randy Jones of Slate Theory Winery and former Slate Mill Wine Collective stated, “I am so glad that Slate Mill Wine Collective sold to whom it did. There is no doubt in my mind that Brian (Heath) and his team will build something phenomenal, something that historical property deserves. As far as my family, we will be 100% focused on our Slate Theory Winery property.”
Related Posts
Slate Theory Winery- A COVID-19 Visit to some New Wineries in the Texas Hill Country
- Hangin’ in the Hill Country for Four Days – Part 2
- Grape Creek Vineyards
- Arch Ray Winery
- The Eight Texas AVAs – Size, Boundaries, Climate, etc. (Part Two of Three)
- Airis’Ele Vineyards
- Becker Vineyards Announces New General Manager
Yesterday, 10/27 was the first day tastings under the new label Invention Vineyards. My wife and I stopped by about noon and were greeted a young lady that informed us of the change. The tasting sheet had the new name and logo on it. She did a great job considering it was day 1.
The tastings included a combination of the Slate Mill products and a Grape Creek product. Funny thing, we were there the same time of the year when first change occurred a couple of years. Same scenario: major change of owner ship, etc. Check them out!
Thank you Kevin for the quick review! They said the same staff is going to be there, so the wonderful experience we all had before should still remain. Thanks for confirming it!