I heard it through the grapevine!

From Messina Hof

We had a busy weekend! My sister came into town to visit and it was a blast!

We woke up bright and early on Saturday and went to Messina Hof to pick and stomp grapes. After signing in we were "briefed" on how to properly pick a grape clusters and keep all ten of our fingers. Then they told us a little about how long Messina Hof had been in Bryan and some general history about wine making.

We headed out into the vineyard while they had wonderful music playing... it sounded Italian to me. We quickly divided up and different pairs walked down the row to begin harvest. Steven was on one side and my sister and I on the other. They encouraged us to taste the grapes, and let me tell you... they were SWEET! Everyone has been really worried about the drought, and while it may be bad for the corn/barley (so sorry beer drinkers), it has made the grapes sweeter!

The variety that is grown in our area is called Black Spanish (Lenoir). It is a very tight cluster and is used to make dessert wines. I was really surprised how such little grapes could have so many seeds in them. After all they were wine grapes... not table grapes. We got to taste last year's harvest and it was AMAZING!!! It is called Papa Paulo Port. Even though it is expensive, we will probably purchase a bottle of the 2009 wine when it comes out.... after all we helped bring in the grapes.

Stopping was fun... and messy... but still fun. They don't stomp all of their wine... just a small amount when they do tours or special events. They showed us how they process it and prepare it for the "cellar" (which is above ground because, after all, we are in Texas). The "cellar" area is more like a dark well air conditioned room. If you view my pictures (slide show below) you will see a fork lift dumping grapes into a large vat-type-thing. Basically the machine pulls off the grapes and discards the seeds and stems. The juice and skins are pushed through a pipe and into the cellar room.

After the tour we tasted three wines. The first one was the Texas Hold 'Em White wine (sorry no picture). It was smooth and sweet. It is classified as a dry white wine, but it wasn't that dry... I would call it one step above dessert. We all enjoyed it so we purchased a bottle for dinner. We made grilled chicken and was fabulous again. It's a good inexpensive wine.

The next one we tasted was the Texas Hold 'Em Red wine. This one is a blend and I didn't care for it too much. I have yet to find a blended red wine that I like. I enjoy Merlot & Cabernet, but when people blend reds my taste buds get confused.

The last was the Port from the previous season. I HIGHLY recommend this wine. Steven didn't care for it, but I liked it. It was very smooth at first... like chocolate and cherries (I know, it sounds crazy, but it really tasted like that), and then it turns slightly dry... kind of a reminder that you are drinking wine... not chocolate. I liked it. A girl in front of us told us that she pours it over ice cream. I'm not sure about that, but it is a good wine.

They explained how to properly taste wine and Steven really enjoyed that. We will probably go back for another tasting. I think it a great idea because there is nothing worse than trying out a new bottle of wine and no one in the house liking it. The tours and tastings are $5 and a good date on Saturday.

Here are all the pictures in a slide show... Enjoy!