Sol Invictus Vineyard

Sol Invictus Vineyard is a winery in Star, Idaho, located on Schmidt Lane. It produces small-lot wines from grapes grown on its own estate vineyard and welcomes guests to a tasting room on the property. The winery is owned and operated by Scott and Denise Smith. Scott serves as owner, winemaker and vineyard manager, and Denise manages the tasting room. The team also includes a wine apprentice, tasting room leads and servers, and a bottling crew.

The vineyard was planted beginning in 2015, when Scott, Denise, family and friends put in more than 5,000 wine vines. A test plot of eight rows and nine varietals came first, and the planting grew to five acres of 13 varietals, four white and nine red, on a 10-acre property. Red plantings include Syrah, Malbec, Merlot, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a private planting of Pinot Noir. White varietals include Riesling, Chardonnay, Viognier and Gewurztraminer. The site is an elevated bench on the north side of the valley with a south-facing slope, sandy loam soil and air drainage that helps reduce irrigation and spraying. The winery opened for business in 2019.

Scott and Denise met in the Rhine wine valley of Germany and traveled for more than 20 years before settling in the Treasure Valley. Scott is an Idaho native, a combat veteran and retired after a 26-year military career. The winery supports military service members and first responders, and works to preserve Idaho's hunting, fishing, farming and wildlife habitat, with bat boxes, owl boxes, raptor perches and bird habitat planted on the vineyard.

Sol Invictus Vineyard holds a rating of 4.80 from the customers who have reviewed it.