What type of Texas winery owner would dare to pit his Texas wines against great wines from all over the world. Obviously, that winemaker is confident his Texas wines would compare favorably with those well known wines. Paul Bonarrigo with Messina Hof Winery in Bryan decided he would compare twelve of his wines with higher priced, better known wines last Sunday January 10th. Those twelve flights of wines with suggested retail prices included:• Messina Hof Gewürztraminer 2008 ($9) v. Darting Gewürztraminer 2007 ($20)• Messina Hof Merrill’s Vineyard Riesling 2008 ($10) v. Escher Riesling 2007 ($13) • Messina Hof Chenin Blanc 2009 ($6) v. Sebeka Chenin Blanc 2008 ($11) • Messina Hof Barrel Res. Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($9) v. Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 ($28)• Messina Hof Private Reserve Zinfandel 2007 ($17) v. Alexander Valley Vineyard Zinfandel “SinZin” ($23)• Messina Hof Merrill’s Vineyard Angel Riesling 2008 ($17) v. Schmitt Sohne Eiswein 2008 ($23)• Messina Hof Reserve Pinot Noir 2003 ($17) v. David Bruce Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2006 ($42)• Messina Hof Barrel Reserve Merlot 2006 ($9) v. Rodney Strong Sonoma County Merlot 2005 ($19)• Messina Hof Barrel Res. Cabernet Franc 2005 ($9) v. Iron Stone Reserve Cabernet Franc 2006 ($28) • Messina Hof Paulo (Bordeaux Blend) 2002 ($40) v. Opus One 2003 ($167) • Messina Hof Paulo Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($40) v. Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($105)• Messina Hof Private Reserve Port 2005 ($24) v. Fonseca Quinta do Panascal 2005 ($50)These wines were rated using the UC Davis evaluation methodology based on a 20 point assessment. ( See http://www.scribd.com/doc/6338360/JACKSON-2002-Wine-Tasting-A-Professional-Handbook for details of this evaluation process). Wines were assessed by ten Texas wine tasters, being Terry Anderson (www.thetexasfoodandwinegourmet.com), Jeff Siegel (www.winecurmudgeon.com), Martin Korson (www.centralmarket.com), Ross Outon (www.linkedin.com/in/rossthewineguy), Denise Fraser (www.denisefraser.com), Jane Nickles (www. www.winespeak101.com), John Griffin (www.savorsa.com), Russ Kane (www.vintagetexas.com/blog), Dan Huerta and Phil Metzinger (www.brookshirebrothers.com). The identification of those wines were not revealed until the evaluations were completed. What was surprising is that the less expensive Texas wines were not easily discernible over the more expensive well known wines. Furthermore, the point spreads were not wide in each of the flights of wines. Even though the point spreads were not so great, there was a see-saw of which wine (Texas or non-Texas) was the better. What does this mean in the real world? Texas wines are as good as the rest of the world wines. In some cases, Texas wines are better. Why spend more money, when Texas wines cost less are as good or better than more expensive, well known wines.For instance, Messina Hof paired its 02 Paulo ($40) against the infamous 03 Opus One (($167) with five wine tasters favoring Messina Hoff, four favoring Opus One and one tied vote. The averages of the votes of the ten wine tasters were 15.75 for Messina Hof and 15.4 for Opus One on the 20-point UC Davis Wine Tasting Scale. Obviously, the Messina Hof Bordeaux Blend at one-fourth of the costs of Opus One slightly out-scored the more expensive wine and is the better of the two wines.Messina Hof’s 02 Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) was tasted with the Silver Oak Napa Valley 02 Cabernet Sauvignon ($105) with five tasters preferring Messina Hof Cabs while two tasters preferred the more expensive wines and three had tied votes. The averages of the ten wine tasters on the 20-point system were 16.35 for Messina Hof and 14.35 for Silver Oak. Again Messina Hof outscore a wine 250% its cost.Messina Hof’s 06 Reserve Merlot (($9) per bottle was tasted with Rodney Strong Sonoma County 05 Merlot ($19) with four votes in favor of Messina Hof, three votes for Rodney Strong, and three tied votes. The averages of the ten wine tasters were 13.5 for both wines. These two wines are very comparable, but Messina Hof is more than half of the cost of the other wine.What is obvious is that Messina Hof of Texas compares favorably against wines of great notoriety from other areas and at a fraction of the cost. The wine tasters’ scores varied, but it was obvious that the team of wine tasters in their blind tastings preferred the Messina Hof wines over the “other famous wines.” The costs of the two opposing wines were like NIGHT and DAY with the suggested retail costs of the Messina Hof wines being significantly less in each pairing than the “other wine.”This wine tasting should send tsunami waves through the wine world where the relatively unknown Texas wines in the international wine community faired extremely well with well known brands. It is up to the wine community to make this tasting known to the world. However, we have a real problem in Texas. We drink almost all of the wine we make with very little getting out of Texas. Messina Hof Winery does have an “ace up its sleeve” with Paul Bonarrigo V leaving the U.S. Military in April and joining his father in April. Will this father-son duo alleviate this problem?
