BRAZOS READS
Family , Tradition & Romance :
Story
by Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo
The Messina Hof
PHOTOS COURTESY PAUL AND MERRILL BONARRIGO
Merrill and Paul Bonarrigo pose with their first wine press .
BY AUBREY VOGEL
The Messina Hof Story chronicles two great love affairs : the story of husband and wife Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo and their lifelong passion for Texas wine-making and its development as an industry . It all started when a firstgeneration Italian guy from the Bronx , New York , met a girl from Bryan / College Station — two people from opposite parts of the country who ultimately landed in the Brazos Valley and created a legacy through their winery Messina Hof .
The couple met in an unlikely way after Paul ’ s divorce . He needed to sell his house , and who better to call than Merrill , a real estate agent whom he vaguely knew through a previous interaction . Merrill warned him that his house might not sell if potential buyers were scared off by his boxer Sonny , which indeed did happen at her first showing . Soon after , he and Merrill had their first date , which led to marriage in 1977 . Shortly thereafter , chronicled in the section labeled in the book as “ The Pet Rock Era ,” Paul met a Texas A & M University Ph . D student who was compiling research on Texas grape feasibility . To help with his research , the couple decided to take a gamble and planted 14 different grape varieties at their Bryan home .
14 July 2021