The Wineslinger Chronicles: For the Bonarrigos at Messina Hof, Heritage, Family, Vision and Passion Came Before Profit
By Russ Kane, VintageTexas.com
Photo credits include some images from Messina Hof Winery
In 1977, Paul V. and Merrill Bonarrigo, the now well known Texas wine husband and wife duo at Messina Hof Winery, planted their first grapevines on a quarter acre of their land in Bryan, Texas. However, as most people in the wine industry know (or should know), a vineyard is not a quick way to make money. It was six years until their first commercial harvest came in 1983.
In case you haven’t heard the story, there’s a Bonarrigo family tradition of making wine when Paul and his parents lived in the Bronx. They would purchase grapes and have them shipped to New York along with other mainly Italian families interested in making wine for their own consumption.
As the story has been told many times before, going back to his ancestors in the ‘old country’. They grew grapes and made wine in Sicily. From this, Paul had an interest in making his own wine. However, being in Texas in the 1970’s and 80’s, this might have been considered what they call in golf, a long shot, particularly back then when the were only a few wineries in a state as big as Texas.
While in New York, Paul studied be a physical therapy at Columbia University and later left home to enlist in the Navy as a physical therapist. He was stationed in Oakland, California, just a short hop to California’s wine country of Napa and Sonoma. This geographic association gave Paul a chance to experience commercial vineyards and wineries in Napa Valley, where he also studied and learned more about growing grapes and making wine.
Paul’s connections in New York and California prompts the question… How did he get to Texas where he met Merrill and together they married and started their wine business?
Well, after leaving the Navy, as licensed physical therapist, he had an opportunity to start a practice in Bryan. Then, in what could only be called ‘serendipity’, one of Paul’s patients was Ron Perry who was doing his Ph.D. on the feasibility of growing grapes in Texas with the purpose of making wine. He planted 13 vineyards all over Texas with 50 grape varieties to see where certain varieties of grapes could be grown. Eventually, Perry planted one of his experimental vineyards on the Bonarrigo property in Bryan, and so Paul and Merrill’s Texas grand wine adventure got its start.
From the dozens of varieties of grapes in Perry’s repertoire planted in Bryan, none of the typical Vitis vinifera varieties of European wine grapes proved successful. There was only one grape that did particularly well. It was the hybrid red grape called Lenoir (or Black Spanish) and the Bonarrigos went with it with aims of a commercial vineyard and winery. In the following period, Paul’s “day job” in physical therapy made end’s meet while their fledgling wine operation was starting up. Also, Merrill’s degree in business and marketing proved to be an asset to their partnership in running and promoting their business.
Their winery tasting room started in a single wide trailer on their property. I’ve talked to people that said that when they went to Messina Hof Winery for a tour and tasting back in those days, the tasting started in the living room of the Bonarrigo’s nearby house, included a walk in the vineyard, and ended in the trailer tasting room.
The Bonarrigo’s penchant for wine innovation, combined with business and marketing savvy, helped grow their operation. They were one of the first wineries not in the Lubbock area to build relationships with the high plains grape growers yielding a supply of Vitis vinifera wine grapes to broaden their winery’s offerings, they help pioneer making of Port-style wines from their Lenoir grapes without brandy additions rather using special high alcohol yeast and methods to fortify this wine, and one of the first to start on-premise, full-service restaurant and B&B at their winery. There is even a story about how they staged a wine release at the old Shamrock Hilton Hotel in downtown Houston that included a horse-mounted rider riding up the hotel and delivering the wine into the hotel lobby for the release tasting.
To make a long story short, from Paul and Merrill’s vision, passion, hard work, and market savvy, their compound in Bryan, Texas, now covers a 100-acre estate with a winery, tasting room, and a resort B&B surrounded with 42 acres planted in Lenoir grapes and, a pet-project of Paul’s, promoting a favorite Italian grape, Sagrantino, and an innovative and unique estate planting of this grape on the Texas Gulf Coast. The Bonnarrigos also have three other Texas winery venues located in Grapevine, Fredericksburg and Richmond (on the western outskirts of Houston).
Before we leave, I would be remiss not to mention the role of family in the Bonarrigo’s success. In 1977, when Paul and Merrill started their vineyard in Bryan, they had their 14 month old son Paul in tow. As a result he basically grew up within the Bonarrigo family business of wine. Later, he served in the U.S. Marines and married his wife Karen. Paul Mitchell and Karen Bonarrigo officially took over Messina Hof winery operations in 2012. Paul Mitchell became the Chief Executive Officer and Head Winemaker, while Karen took on the role of Director of Administration. This marked the transition to the next generation of leadership at the winery, and making Messina Hof one of the few multigenerational wineries in Texas.
The Bonarrigo’s family business now covers all aspects of the modern wine scene and is one of the largest winery operations in the State of Texas. It includes winery and vineyard tours, tastings and sales of award-winning wines (even personalized labeled wines), shopping for wine-related apparel, wine or wine accessory, and on-premise resort B&B stays.
Click here for more on the Bonarrigo’s story. Now is your time to visit… Enjoy!
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