They say it’s the Top Texas Wine for 2012. By they, we mean the judges from the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition. As part of the state’s most lauded rodeo’s, the wine competition bestows a Texas-sized stamp of approval on wines from all over the world.

By Top Texas Wine, we mean the Messina Hof Solera Texas, 2004, a Texas version of a sherry-style wine made from 100% Black Spanish (Lenoir) grapes grown at the Bryan-based vineyard. (Note: Black Spanish is one of Texas’ native grapes and grows well in just about all parts of the state.) This unique wine sits at the cream of the crop as one of nine Overall Show Award winners including wines from Italy, France, Spain, California and Washington State.

“This wine caught the attention of the judges in a double blind tasting,” says Stephanie Baird General Chairman of the Rodeo Uncorked! Wine Committee. “It is a great Top Texas Wine as it is made from what was once one of the most widely planted grapes in the state—Lenoir. It was abundant enough to be used by missions for communion hundreds of years ago, which gives this grape a great Texas history, and now, so does this wine from Messina Hof.”

What’s a Texas version on a sherry style wine?

It’s probably best to define what a Sherry is. Technically, Sherry is a fortified wine that is made in Spain near the town of Jerez. The primary grapes used to make sherry are Palomino, Muscatel and Pedro Ximenez and the process by which this delicate wine is made is called the “solera system,”—which is how the Messina Hof wine got its name. To be honest, the solera system is difficult to describe, but it is a method of fractional blending using old wine that is aged in barrels to refresh younger wine, creating a level of complexity in the overall flavor.

In Messina Hof’s case, owner and winemaker Paul Bonarrigo, used barrels of Black Spanish from 2003, 2004 and 2005 to fractionally blend an aged wine. He then set the barrel with this blend in the summer sun during 2007 to “bake” the wine with flavors from American oak barrels. The result is a crisp, off-dry/sweet wine with creamy vanilla and toffee flavors.

As Karen MacNeil says in her wine enthusiast handbook The Wine Bible, “As it stands, Sherry, the unsung hero of great wine classics, is misunderstood, under appreciated, and wrongly cast as the libation of old ladies.”

Messina Hof has proved this misconception wrong with the Solera. Even though it’s not technically an official sherry, the style is very much in the Sherry arena.

What makes it so good?

I sat down with Maser Sommelier Craig Collins of Prestige wine distributors. Collins is one of only six master sommeliers in the state and it just so happens that he got his start in the wine industry with a job in the tasting room of Messina Hof while he was finishing college at Texas A&M University.

“Messina Hof is a pioneer for the wine industry,” says Collins. “They work tirelessly at getting their wines into the hands of Texans and they have a lot of great wine to show for it.”

Solera Tasting notes:

On the nose, this tawny brown wine has notes of raisin, dates, toffee, and caramel. Collins also picked up orange peel, candied pecan, and a soft, savory herbaceousness. Almost like lavender.

On the palate, the wine confirms the nutty, raisin notes in the nose adding flavors of amaretto, vanilla and prune.

And while Collins finds the general flavor of the wine to be appealing, he was most impressed with the balance. “This wine has 18 percent alcohol, yet it’s unbelievably balanced. It doesn’t have a heavy body and it’s not very cloying with residual sugar. You don’t get an overwhelming sense that you’re drinking a high alcohol wine. Striking that balance is very difficult to do with wine like this and it’s probably why it made the Top Texas Wine.”

While this is a dessert-style wine, Collins suggests opting against sweet desserts to pair with the Solera. Instead, enjoy the wine with a cheese plate including a strong blue cheese, a sharp cheddar cheese and a few different nuts. If you must satisfy the sweet tooth, a rich walnut brownie would be fantastic. The clean, crisp body of the wine will enhance the walnut flavor and cut the bitterness of the chocolate.

Messina Hof cleaned house in this year’s competition taking home 21 total awards out of the 23 it submitted. Two other standouts were the Cabernet Franc Private Reserve, 2009, which won Class Champion and Texas Class Champion (Double Gold Medal). This big Texas Red is consistently one of my favorites from this winery with balanced tannin and deep, dark flavors of blackberry, Christmas spices and a little vanilla.

“This award shows us that we’re on the right track when we’re winning competitions like this in the same league as wines from all over the world,” says Paul Bonarrigo. “I’m particularly proud that we won using the Black Spanish grape. We use it in a number of ways with our wines including in port and a dry rose. It means a lot to get recognition for showing how diverse a native Texas grape is and how well it shows in an international competition. It says a lot for Texas wine.

You can visit the original Messina Hof Winery and Vineyards in Bryan or at their new Hill Country facility in Stonewall, just outside of Fredericksburg. The Tuscan-style winery not only features a warm and inviting tasting room, but a guest villa as well for those who would like to linger a little longer in the Napa Valley of Texas.

The awards will be given at the Roundup and Best Bites Competition on February 19, 2012 at Reliant Center. Tickets for the event can be purchased here. Congrats to Messina Hof for making some great Texas wine and hats off to the many other Texas wines who performed beautifully in the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition! (See the full list of results here.)

Winery: Messina Hof Winery and Vineyards

Wine: Solera Texas Sherry 2004

Availability: Winery only. Click here to purchase

Price: $45

- Jessica Dupuy

Tagged: Craig Collins, Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, Jessica Dupuy, Messina Hof, Paul Bonarrigo, Solera

A few months ago, we presented an overview of the Hill Country Wine Trail. This month, we turn our attention to the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail. Though you won’t find any bluebonnets this time of year, you will find some beautiful pastoral scenery, some great Texas wines, and a number of fun little stops along the way. This petite trail in Southeast Texas has a total of eight member wineries between I-45 and U.S. Highway 290 with stops through Bryan, Brenham, and Montgomery.

Just outside of Bryan, Messina Hof winery is a worthwhile excursion featuring a wine tasting room, a gift shop, a full-scale restaurant, and a bed and breakfast—not to mention endless acres of grape vines. Having first planted grapes in 1977, Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo are some of the state’s pioneer winemakers. With a wide portfolio of wines, many of which have won double gold and the prized Champion saddle from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, you can narrow down your favorites in the spacious Winemaker’s Wine Bar. And if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of Paul Bonarrigo, perpetually in a bright red cap, who can give you the inside scoop on the latest Messina Hof has to offer.

For a more interactive experience, stop off at Cork This! in Montgomery where you can sample from a few of their light-hearted cartoon-labeled wines such as “One Night Stand” Cabernet Sauvignon or “Irreconcilable Differences” Syrah. You can also try your hand at making your very own wine blend. Here, the name of the game is fun; leave any stuffinessat the door…

In Brenham, enjoy the scenic fields of Pleasant Hill Winery and a glass of crisp Blanc du Bois (one of the winery’s top award winners) from a seat at the old country-barn-turned-wine-tasting room along property’s hillside. This quaint family-owned vineyard offers a wide-ranging portfolio of red and white from Cabernet Sauvignon to Fume Blanc.

Check out the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail website for more detailed information on all of the wineries along the trail. Or, for a little more insight, check out the TDA Wine Cast on the trail featuring Messina Hof’s Paul Bonarrigo.

For Conroe, Houston, and The Woodlands locals, the Bluebonnet Wine Trail is a perfect daytrip excursion. For those visiting from other parts of the state, it’s a great weekend escape, especially with great places to stay such as the Villa at Messina Hof Bed & Breakfast, Brenham’s historic Ant Street Inn, or at the luxurious Inn at Dos Brisas. And while you’re in the area, there are a number of other worthwhile attractions along this wine trail including the many antique and gift shops in Bryan such as the Old Bryan Marketplace complete with the very best in Texas-style home accessories. In Brenham, you can add ice cream to your wine tasting schedule with a tour at the Blue Bell Ice Cream production facility. And if the weather is nice, take a detour outside of Bellville to Lavande, a Provence-inspired lavender and olive farm featuring idyllic lavender fields and a wide range of handmade gifts.

The Bluebonnet Wine Trail may not be as expansive as its Hill Country counterpart, but for a scenic country-style respite, it certainly fits the bill.

Tagged: Blue Bell Ice Cream, Cork This!, Lavande, Messina Hof, Old Bryan Marketplace, Pleasant Hill Winery, Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail