Messina Hof Winery to open Location in Houston

Messina Hof Winery is opening a fourth location in the Houston area called Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery.

The Bonarrigo family, owners and operators of Messina Hof Wine Cellars, Inc. made the announcement to Messina Hof VIP members at their estate winery in Bryan on Sunday, March 3. The owners made it clear the winery will be producing wine at the facility and not just be a tasting room.

The “green project” and its experimental vineyards will be the largest winery in that part of the state and will not only increase Messina Hof’s wine production, but also become its national distribution hub.

The Houston location for Messina Hof joins locations in Bryan, Grapevine, and Fredericksburg.

The new project will break ground in 2019 in Harvest Green, a new 1,300-acre Johnson Development community and agriculture focused neighborhood around a “village farm” in the greater Houston area. The facility being built will be a modern evolution of Messina Hof’s winery concepts, all of which mirror the community in which they exist. Crain Group will direct the building project currently being designed by Ted Trout Architect & Associates, which has a heavy emphasis on sustainable design and water recapturing.

Besides the winery at Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery, it will include an open kitchen restaurant that will seat approximately 130 guests across all indoor spaces. A 2,600 square foot covered patio will allow for larger, private events, and group tastings. Two private tasting rooms will be available for corporate use, group bookings, and private dining. The wine production and barrel room will be anchored by wooden foudres and oak barrels acting as both a focal point and an opportunity for guests to taste wine in process.  Much like Vintage House Restaurant located at Messina Hof’s Estate in Bryan, the restaurant at Messina Hof Harvest Green will make use of the onsite gardens and Harvest Green’s neighborhood farm to have a menu focused on Vineyard Cuisine™.

When complete, Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery will be the winery’s second largest production facility, with both vineyard harvesting and wine processing aging taking place onsite. Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery will also become the home for all wine shipping operations including wine club. A later phase will include a large indoor event space and limited lodging. The project not only expands Messina Hof’s presence throughout Texas but will also allow the winemakers to integrate into a new community in a very organic and dynamic way. Eventually the project will also serve the local community with an abundance of educational programming, work with the community farmers on seasonal tastings, and start to harvest from the experimental plots that are currently being added.

“For 42 years, Messina Hof has pioneered great Texas wine and built a loyal family of customers throughout Texas. We are excited to continue our passion of providing delicious wine and food in a new craft winery and kitchen located in Richmond, Texas,” said Messina Hof’s Paul M. Bonarrigo. He continued, “Our community partner in this project, Harvest Green, is an agriculture-based farm community that aligns with our passions in farm to table foods paired with great local wine. We look forward to growing and connecting our large family of customers in Houston and southeast Texas.”

Messina Hof Winery, the most award-winning winery in Texas with nearly 1,300 awards from national and international wine competitions since opening in 1977, has added more than 50 new awards in its portfolio of 100% Texas wines in 2018 alone, including a Double Gold from the San Francisco Chronicle, a Gold at 2018 TEXSOM International Wine Awards, two Golds from New Orleans International Wine Competition, a Gold in the 2018 Lonestar International Wine Competition, six Gold medals from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Uncorked International Wine Competition, and a Double Gold from the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition. A leader in the wine industry, Messina Hof has more than 70 Texas wines currently available in multi-state distribution and shipping to 40 states and remains the largest producer of Texas wine.