Wine news

Award-winning Texas winery honors its Italian heritage with 2 new vintages

Messina Hof Bonarrigo Family Wines collection

The Bonarrigo Family Series is available via curbside pickup at the Grapevine winery.

Courtesy of Messina Hof

Texas winery Messina Hof is putting family first. The Bryan-based winemaker, which has a winery in Grapevine, has introduced its Bonarrigo Family Wines collection — a tribute to its owners’ seven generations of wine making in Sicily and America.

“Our motto as a company is ‘join the family,’” says Messina Hof CEO and head winemaker Paul Bonarrigo. “This is a little piece of our heart and something that’s very special.”

In keeping with the family’s Italian heritage, the Bonarrigo Family Wines collection consists of two vintages — the 2018 Heritage Select dry white wine blend ($25) and the 2018 Heritage Reserve dry red wine blend ($40) — made with Italian-style varietals grown in the Texas High Plains near Lubbock.

Both wines are now available online via Messina Hof’s website or at the company’s wineries, including the Grapevine location. (While the Grapevine winery is currently closed for tastings — per Gov. Greg Abbot's recent shutdown of bars, breweries, and wineries — bottles and cases are available to purchase for curbside pickup.)

“For those who aren’t aware, that is the premier growing region of Texas,” Bonarrigo says. “Lots of grapes are grown up there, and the quality is tremendous: lots of elevation, good water quality, obviously lots of great sunlight, so you get these great ripe flavors in the wine.”

The Heritage Reserve blends 55-percent Sagrantino, 30-percent Primitivo, and 15-percent Sangiovese. It’s aged in a mix of French and American oak barrels then bottle-aged for an additional six months. Sagrantino gives the wine tannins, while drinkers should note dark fruit from from the Primitivo and earthy notes from the Sangiovese.

“When we did our dinner last weekend, we paired it with osso bucco and it was exceptional,” Bonarrigo says. “Just about any Italian dish would go great.”

The Heritage Select blends 83-percent Pinot Grigio grapes and 17-percent Trebbiano, giving it a mixture of citrus, floral, and tropical fruit notes. Recommended pairings includes chicken, seafood, or pasta dishes such as lemon risotto.

“Ultimately, looking at Italian-style wine, food is a big piece of that culture and our family,” the winemaker says. “Making wines that are geared toward the dining room table is exactly what we’re trying to achieve.”

Meanwhile, work continues on the company’s newest winery: a Houston-area facility in Richmond’s Harvest Green community. Currently, the company expects the winery to open in November.

In total, Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery and Kitchen will feature over two acres of vineyards that could yield production of approximately 400 cases of wine per year. Visitors will be able to taste wine from the barrel or tank as well as try their hand at blending.

“We’re very excited about it,” Bonarrigo says. “This is another project that has been in the works a long time. To see it coming together with the walls going up is really exciting.”

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Mex-Mex News

Milo's Cocina Mexicana brings margarita magic to North Richland Hills

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Enchiladas at Milo's Cocina Mexicana

A Mexican restaurant with mid-cities ties has debuted in North Richland Hills: Called Milo’s Cocina Mexicana, the restaurant is a cousin of Los Jimadores, the popular family-owned restaurant in Bedford, and it opened this summer in the former Garcia’s Latin Cuisine space at 8407 Blvd. 26 in Harwood Plaza.

Milo’s Cocina comes from Hermilo “Milo” Acosta, a restaurateur who leveraged his 25-plus years in the industry cooking and serving in restaurants to launch Los Jimadores Tequila Factory, his first restaurant, in 2010.

The menu at Milo's offers some of the same classic Mexican fare as Los Jimadores, featuring flavors and dishes from Acosta's mother's recipes such as the complimentary bean dip and salsa served before meals which customers have come to love.

Both restaurants also veer outside the Tex-Mex box. At Milo's, they dabble in authentic upscale Mexican dishes such as salmon Azteca, featuring salmon over shrimp chilaquiles with spinach, pineapple, and poblano cream, for $22. Quesadillas use tortillas made fresh in-house, with a choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables for $13-$17.

Additionally, they offer salads and soups, fajita nachos, enchiladas, and desserts, such as sopapillas and fried ice cream.

"We have vendors that come every other day, to make sure that everything we serve is fresh," Acosta says. "And we try to keep it all organic and simple, like the fresh tortillas and the beans that we make everyday."

They also have a vast range of margaritas, which start at $10, with 15 flavors including peach, mango, and banana. The favorites are guava and Milo’s margarita, with Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila and Cointreau, Acosta says.

Beyond the excellent food and drink, the restaurant has a patio and full bar with four TVs for game day viewing. They're open for lunch on weekdays from 11 am-3 pm. On weekends, they do a leisurely brunch that starts with breakfast at 8 am and extends all the way through the lunch hour until 3 pm, with omelets, breakfast tacos, omelets, steak & eggs, chicken & waffles, pancakes, huevos rancheros, and a bacon & eggs special for $7.

They also offer very popular private rooms for dinners and events with seating for 20-30 people.

Acosta credits a loyal staff who've helped keep both restaurants on an even keel.

“We have the same guys in the kitchen as when we started,” he says.”I see other places that sometimes change the kitchen, but when the staff changes, you risk the chance of things changing or declining. We've been able to keep that same quality.”