Texas wine country has a reputation for tradition. But now out in the Hill Country, a new ingredient is working its way into the bottle: technology.

At Invention Vineyards, old-world winemaking is merging with artificial intelligence and automation.

“We’re at 35 acres of planted grapes here,” said Brian Heath, founder and CEO of Heath Family Brands, as he walked a row of Tempranillo vines. Heath Family Brands includes Invention Vineyards and Grape Creek.

Heath says his team makes wine the old-fashioned way, with a high-tech twist.

“Everything from GPS trackers that lay out a vineyard to advanced machinery like hedgers and leaf pullers that allow a vineyard to really optimize its growth positioning,” he said.

THE BOTTLING ROOM LOOKS LIKE A HIGH-TECH LAB

Inside the winery, the bottling room looks more like a high-tech lab than a cellar.

“Right now we’re walking by the disgorgement line. We have our riddling quads over here, which is part of the sparkling wine making process,” Heath said.

Riddling moves sediment to the neck of the bottle, and it’s removed later. It used to be done by hand. Now machines handle it with precision.

“These machines will not only rotate but tilt the cage so that those bottles are vertical and neck down, so the sediment naturally flows to the bottom,” Heath said.

ALSO| ICON Raises $200 Million to Scale Its Multi-Story 3D Printing Robot

KEYE

FIVE DAYS INSTEAD OF SIX MONTHS

The payoff is speed.

“The net effect is that we’re able to do in five or six days what used to take six months in developing the wine,” Heath said. “But what we can’t speed up is the process of aging.”

Machines can automate parts of the process. Time stays outside their reach, at least for now.

The pour shows the result. The bubbles settle into a fine, even pattern. Small bubbles are one of the hallmarks of high-end sparkling wine.

THE TECHNOLOGY IS NEW. THE PHILOSOPHY IS OLD

Heath recalls a tour of a winery in Bordeaux, where the wine director offered some perspective.

“He says, you know, winemaking’s not that hard. It’s just the first 200 years that are difficult,” Heath said. “And in Texas, we’re having to learn as we go, but we’re learning quickly.”

Production at Invention still follows the traditional sparkling wine method that has been used for decades. Computer-controlled machines now do the heavy lifting, and AI is starting to join the team.

“The advent of technology has allowed us to be able to do some things more efficiently, but I would argue with a higher degree of consistent quality,” Heath said. “And that we can deliver a very high-end, consistent product.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Tradition gives Texas wine its soul. Technology gives it a future. And like any good wine, it only gets better with age.

Tech This Out with Walt Maciborski airs weekly on CBS Austin.