Messina Hof isn't the only winery expanding

GILLESPIE COUNTY So many wine lovers are flocking to the Hill Country that now wineries from other parts of the state are flocking here, too.

Three new operations are under way in a quarter-mile stretch of U.S. 290 just east of Fredericksburg near Grape Creek: the first phase of an expansion project from Messina Hof; Mendelbaum Cellars, a tasting room featuring wines from Inwood Estates in Dallas; The Vineyard at Florence near Georgetown; and 4.0 Cellars, a collaboration from McPherson Cellars in Lubbock, Lone Oak Winery in Burleson and Brennan Vineyards in Comanche. Two of the projects — Messina Hof and Mendelbaum Cellars — are set to open in two weeks, and 4.0 Cellars is slated to open early next year.

Wine is big business in this area of the Hill Country, and winemakers from other corners of the state want in on the action. In 2007, the Fredericksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau found that 24 percent of people who visited the area listed wine as a top priority and that overall, visitors spent $73.2 million in Gillespie County. Many in the industry tout an Orbitz study in 2007 that found that the Hill Country was the No. 2 wine destination in the country, right behind Napa Valley in California.

Messina Hof

Paul Bonarrigo, who founded Messina Hof in Bryan with his wife, Merrill, in 1977, says he's been looking "pretty aggressively" for property in the area for the past 10 years. "Lubbock is better for growing grapes, but Fredericksburg is a fabulous place for wine tourism. "

Bryan is closer to Houston than the Hill Country, but many Houston wine lovers are more likely to drive to Fredericksburg, so Bonarrigo considers it an untapped market for the Texas wine powerhouse.

Messina Hof, which last year produced about 100,000 cases of wine and is one of the largest wineries in the state, already has a high end-restaurant, a 10-room villa, a wine bar and large-scale production facility at its headquarters, and the Bonarrigos hope to add each of those elements over time to the Hill Country location.

Four bed-and-breakfast cabins are almost finished, but the winery plans to build an even bigger inn and add a fine dining restaurant, as well as a large-scale production facility.

Why? According to the founder, they are going to outgrow the Bryan production facility in about five years, based on current growth.

Plus, the Bonarrigos have many ties to the area: Merrill's family moved from Hof, Germany, to Fredericksburg when they first came to America in the 1800s, and the winery has been involved in the Fredericksburg Wine and Food Festival since the festival's inception more than 20 years ago. (The 21st annual festival takes place on Oct. 22, two days after Messina Hof's grand-opening celebration is planned. For event details, go to fbgfoodandwinefest.com.)

4.0 Cellars

Pat Brennan says all three winery owners involved with 4.0 Cellars faced the same problem: They are making good wine, but just not in a wine destination that can compare to the Hill Country. "Fredericksburg traffic is huge, and this will give us publicity and improve distribution and name identification," Brennan says.

Brennan Vineyards, in Comanche, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth, is the farthest off the beaten path. McPherson Cellars in Lubbock and Lone Oak in Burleson are closer to metropolitan areas than Brennan, but the temptation to be near the U.S. 290 wine trail, which includes wineries such as Becker Vineyards and Pedernales Cellars, was just too great.

Stan Schmidt, who has known winemaker Kim McPherson since they were in grade school together in Lubbock, is the general manager overseeing construction of 4.0 Cellars, which will include a tasting room, event facility and production room. "Napa (Valley) had to work together, and we're going to have to do that, too," Schmidt says. "My goal is to work together to bring more people out here to show them what kind of wine we have in Texas."

The three wineries will come together to produce wines under the 4.0 Cellars label, Brennan says. They'll likely start with a sherry, but might expand to port and a sparkling wine. When three wineries come together on a project like this, it's important that they carefully train the staff to promote all three brands evenly and that they collectively don't make a wine that any of them individually is already making.

There are already 10 wineries on the stretch of U.S. 290 from Johnson City to just outside Fredericksburg, with a few new wineries under way, including Hilmay Cellars just east on U.S. 290. More wineries in the area do mean more competition, but they also mean more visitors, Brennan says. "We're the only game in town in Comanche," Brennan says. "I'd love for five wineries to open near here."