Sloan & Williams Winery plans second Grapevine location

When Alan Kunst Jr. and Ralph Mattison Jr. met as cadets in the ROTC program at Tarleton State University in December 1996, the two became instant best friends.

Throughout their military and later civilian careers, they never lost touch via phone, talking sometimes several times a day.

Their friendship led to following a dream by opening a winery together at 112 E. Texas St. in Grapevine. They called it Sloan & Williams Winery, capitalizing on their middle names.

The winery opened last summer and a grand opening was held during the city’s annual GrapeFest in September.

The business has done so well that they decided to open a second venture in Grapevine.

On Feb. 18, Kunst and Mattison went before the City Council and received approval for a new location, also to be called Sloan & Williams Winery, at 401 S. Main St. in historic downtown.

They plan to open Aug. 1.

This venture, which will be in a 4,224-square-foot building leased from the Masons, will feature wine-tasting and, unique from their other location, about 33 percent of the space devoted to art and retail sales.

In making the request to the City Council, Mattison talked of how he and his business partner came to Grapevine with a vision of introducing their wine, bringing value to the city, becoming part of the community and finding avenues to support their charities.

He said they were “very excited” about the opportunity to expand their vision with a second location.

“When it comes to wine and winemaking, is it an art or is it a science? Most people say it’s a mixture of both,” Mattison said. “Being the smart gentlemen Alan and I are, we thought why would we not combine that?”

The businessman said they occasionally fielded requests for special events and parties at their initial location, causing the issue of turning them away or closing to the public during the event. A second location, he said, would allow them to have at least one site open to the public during regular business hours. Also, space at the first location is “pretty tight,” he said, and does not allow them to showcase art as the new one would.

The owners had been seeking a location on prestigious Main Street and when a longtime tenant decided not to renew his lease with the Masons for his consignment shop, they quickly seized “a great opportunity.”

“We feel like Sloan & Williams will be a great addition to Grapevine’s Main Street,” James Brackett, an officer with Grapevine Masonic Lodge No. 288, told the City Council about property they purchased in 1888.

Mattison said their new location occasionally will feature artists locally on site, such as pottery makers, who can “showcase their wares” and skills.

Mattison said the Main Street location would be their main “light industrial” retail component shop with a winery attached and the old site dedicated more for production, and that together they would create “two unique experiences when folks come to Grapevine.”

It’s a tale of two friends that began from Day One when Kunst and Mattison talked as friends do about owning a business someday. They even came up with a business model that included a favorite past time — wine.

The years passed and the two went about raising their families and taking civilian jobs. Then, a few years ago, they started discussing their futures. Both agreed it was time to take their longtime dream to the next level.

They decided to open a winery.

“We finally pulled the trigger,” said Kunst, a former Army cavalry aeroscoutpilot.

After many months of planning, including leasing a site in downtown historic Grapevine, they got unanimous approval from the City Council on March 18 for Sloan & Williams Winery. Their business is split 50/50.

“Out of every place we could have gone to, this is home,” said Mattison, a former Army cavalry officer.

Co-owner Kunst agreed, saying, “Everyone has their passions — ours is wine. We believe the process of turning grapes into wine is more than a science or a production. It’s an art.”

Their road to Grapevine was a long one, beginning nearly two decades ago when they met at school. Mattison was driving about 200 miles per school day from Killeen and Kunst lived near the college in Stephenville.

So the two came up with a plan. Mattison would live with Kunst and his family Monday through Friday and go home to his wife on weekends.

“We adopted him,” Kunst said with a smile. “We lived together like brothers.”

In addition to serving wine and limited food, their fledgling site include wine production.

“We are able to take the fruit, de-stem it, crush it, press it, ferment it, age it, bottle it and distribute it,” Mattison said.

The co-owners said that even before they knew they would get approval from the city, they leased the property and began outfitting it with vats, a de-stemmer/crusher and a wine press. If the City Council had denied their request, it was going to be an expensive venture.

“We decided to take a risk, not a gamble,” Kunst said. “The difference is if you take a risk and it doesn’t work out, you move forward. A gamble is if it doesn’t work out, you are bankrupt and devastated.”

Mattison added that “everyone involved in the process went out of their way to help us.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Sloan & Williams Winery plans second Grapevine location."