Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery Breaks Ground

Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery and Kitchen broke ground in a small ceremony Friday, launching construction of what will be the largest winery in Southeast Texas. 

The Bonarrigo family — owners and operators of Messina Hof Wine Cellars, Inc. — alongside Johnson Development team members and local dignitaries toasted the start of construction, which is estimated to take 10 to 12 months to complete. 

“We are very excited about the Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery,” said Jerry Ulke, General Manager of Harvest Green, which is located in Richmond. “The Bonarrigos’ plans for the winery perfectly align with our vision to create a community that values our natural resources and wants a closer connection to Mother Nature.” 

Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery will include a tasting room and wine bar, as well as an open-kitchen restaurant that will seat approximately 130 guests across all indoor spaces. A 2,600-square-foot covered patio will allow for larger, private events and group tastings. Two private tasting rooms will be available for corporate use, group bookings and private dining. The wine production and barrel room will be anchored by wooden foudres and oak barrels acting as both a focal point and an opportunity for guests to taste wine in process. Much like Vintage House Restaurant located at Messina Hof’s Estate in Bryan, the restaurant at Messina Hof Harvest Green will make use of the on-site gardens and Harvest Green’s neighborhood farm to put forth a hyper-local menu focused on Vineyard Cuisine™. 

“Our first brick-and-mortar presence in Houston will be on a grand scale, allowing us to connect with our large family of consumers in Houston and Southeast Texas,” said Messina Hof’s Paul M. Bonarrigo. “The project not only expands Messina Hof’s presence throughout Texas,  but we are integrating into a new community in a very organic and dynamic way. As Houston’s only farm-centric community, Harvest Green was a natural choice for our new craft winery and kitchen.” 

 When complete, Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery will be the winemakers’ second largest production facility, with both vineyard harvesting and wine processing aging taking place on-site. Messina Hof Harvest Green Winery will also become the home for all wine shipping operations including the Messina Hof Wine Club. A later phase will include a large indoor event space. Eventually the project will also serve the local community with an abundance of educational programming, work with the community farmers on seasonal tastings and start to harvest and make wine from the experimental vineyard plots that are currently being added. 

 One of the nation’s top-selling communities, Harvest Green is anchored by the 12-acre Village Farm. It offers homes by 11 nationally recognized homebuilders priced from the $240,000s to the $700,000s. For more information about Harvest Green, visit https://www.harvestgreentexas.com. 

 Messina Hof Winery is the state’s largest producer of Texas wine and the most award-winning winery in Texas. It has more than 70 Texas wines currently available in multi-state distribution and currently owns and operates its Estate Winery in Bryan, Messina Hof Hill Country Winery in Fredericksburg and Messina Hof Grapevine Winery in Grapevine.