My trip to Messina Hof. Thanks to Ramona, I saw this B&B and just happened to have an anniversary coming up. Yesterday as a matter of fact, 12 years now. I decided into checking the place out. If you stay on the weekends, two nites are required and it is also easier for us to do something during the weeks so my sister in-law can send the kids to school for most of the day. So we stayed Thursday nite. <?
amespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn
chemas-microsoft-com
ffice
arttags" /><ST1:CITY wt="on"><ST1LACE wt="on">Bryan</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> is about 2 hours away from us so we left at 10. There are some antique shops downtown so we wandered around and had lunch there. We showed up at the Winery about 1:30. We checked in early since there weren’t many people staying there. We got the Lancelot and Guinevere room. The bed frame was hand carved in the 16<SUP>th</SUP> century by monks. There was stain glass and sconces in the room from (I believe) an 18<SUP>th</SUP> century Tudor castle.
<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><O></O>
At 2:30 we went on a tour. The tour consisted of three phases, the history of the winery and the owners, the tour of grapes and the manufacturing area, and the wine tasting. We just happened to be the only people on the tour so we got to ask lots of questions. The history was cool, they’ve been around a while and the wine maker is a 6<SUP>th</SUP> generation wine maker, and his son is trained also. The tour was a walk out to the grapes and a quick peek into the manufacturing area. Them be some really big carboys. We just missed the end of a bottling run but we got to see the equipment up close. In some senses, I knew more about the process than the tour guide. One interesting fact was that they ferment all the wines at much lower temps than us home brewers, like 50-60 deg C. Some of there fermentation tanks are outside (in <ST1:STATE wt="on"><ST1LACE wt="on">Texas</ST1LACE></ST1:STATE>!) but they cool them with water jackets. The other interesting fact was that they almost always bottle their whites right after they finish fermenting and clearing (ie a matter of weeks). The reds, or course, are barreled in either French or American Oak; or in the case of their barrel reserve line, both. The wine tasting was really good. They went over how to taste reds and whites, what to look for, how to smell the nose, open the bouquet, cleanse the palate, etc. We sampled dry white (un-wooded Chard), sweet white (Reisling), dry red (Cabernet Franc), young red (<ST1LACE wt="on">Beaujolais</ST1LACE>), and dessert (Port). We joined as VIP members and they let us try just about every wine they had. We ended up coming home with more than a case.
<O></O>
At 5:00, we had wine and cheese in our room (since no one else was at the hotel for the meet and greet). Afterwards we took a small walk and got ready for dinner).
<O></O>
We had a 7:00 dinner. The package included a “Chef’s table” dinner where they interviewed us when we made the reservations and made up a menu just for us. When we got there we had a nice side table surrounded by aging wines in barrels near the kitchen. The menus were printed out with our names on them. We had lamb (<ST1:CITY wt="on">Shiraz</ST1:CITY>), a romaine salad (Chardonnay), wonton shrimp (Cabernet Frac), filet mignon (Meritiage for me, <ST1LACE wt="on">Beaujolais</ST1LACE> for her), and strawberry flambé (Glory Muscat Canelli). It was a spectacular meal!
<O></O>
We had a champagne breakfast at 8:30. They had peach breakfast crepes with a side of ham. There was also rolls, jams, and other European style breakfast foods.
<O></O>
I have two minor complaints. First, it took over a week for me to secure a reservation. I left my name 3 times in 5 days before someone called me back. Second, the dinner was part of the package and I verified that over the phone, at check in, and in the restaurant and yet I still had a separate charge on my final bill for dinner. They took it right off but none the less I was annoyed. Hopefully I’ve seen the end of that issue.
<O></O>
Overall, I say 4.5 out of 5. My wife liked it so much, she wants to do it again next year.Edited by: Coaster
amespace prefix = st1 ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficearttags" /><ST1:CITY wt="on"><ST1LACE wt="on">Bryan</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> is about 2 hours away from us so we left at 10. There are some antique shops downtown so we wandered around and had lunch there. We showed up at the Winery about 1:30. We checked in early since there weren’t many people staying there. We got the Lancelot and Guinevere room. The bed frame was hand carved in the 16<SUP>th</SUP> century by monks. There was stain glass and sconces in the room from (I believe) an 18<SUP>th</SUP> century Tudor castle. <?
amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><O></O>At 2:30 we went on a tour. The tour consisted of three phases, the history of the winery and the owners, the tour of grapes and the manufacturing area, and the wine tasting. We just happened to be the only people on the tour so we got to ask lots of questions. The history was cool, they’ve been around a while and the wine maker is a 6<SUP>th</SUP> generation wine maker, and his son is trained also. The tour was a walk out to the grapes and a quick peek into the manufacturing area. Them be some really big carboys. We just missed the end of a bottling run but we got to see the equipment up close. In some senses, I knew more about the process than the tour guide. One interesting fact was that they ferment all the wines at much lower temps than us home brewers, like 50-60 deg C. Some of there fermentation tanks are outside (in <ST1:STATE w
t="on"><ST1LACE wt="on">Texas</ST1LACE></ST1:STATE>!) but they cool them with water jackets. The other interesting fact was that they almost always bottle their whites right after they finish fermenting and clearing (ie a matter of weeks). The reds, or course, are barreled in either French or American Oak; or in the case of their barrel reserve line, both. The wine tasting was really good. They went over how to taste reds and whites, what to look for, how to smell the nose, open the bouquet, cleanse the palate, etc. We sampled dry white (un-wooded Chard), sweet white (Reisling), dry red (Cabernet Franc), young red (<ST1LACE wt="on">Beaujolais</ST1LACE>), and dessert (Port). We joined as VIP members and they let us try just about every wine they had. We ended up coming home with more than a case.<O
></O>At 5:00, we had wine and cheese in our room (since no one else was at the hotel for the meet and greet). Afterwards we took a small walk and got ready for dinner).
<O
></O>We had a 7:00 dinner. The package included a “Chef’s table” dinner where they interviewed us when we made the reservations and made up a menu just for us. When we got there we had a nice side table surrounded by aging wines in barrels near the kitchen. The menus were printed out with our names on them. We had lamb (<ST1:CITY w
t="on">Shiraz</ST1:CITY>), a romaine salad (Chardonnay), wonton shrimp (Cabernet Frac), filet mignon (Meritiage for me, <ST1LACE wt="on">Beaujolais</ST1LACE> for her), and strawberry flambé (Glory Muscat Canelli). It was a spectacular meal!<O
></O>We had a champagne breakfast at 8:30. They had peach breakfast crepes with a side of ham. There was also rolls, jams, and other European style breakfast foods.
<O
></O>I have two minor complaints. First, it took over a week for me to secure a reservation. I left my name 3 times in 5 days before someone called me back. Second, the dinner was part of the package and I verified that over the phone, at check in, and in the restaurant and yet I still had a separate charge on my final bill for dinner. They took it right off but none the less I was annoyed. Hopefully I’ve seen the end of that issue.
<O
></O>Overall, I say 4.5 out of 5. My wife liked it so much, she wants to do it again next year.Edited by: Coaster
![[Upgraded] 9Pcs Tree Root Growing Box with Drain Holes, Half Transparent Plant Rooting Propagation Ball & Metal Core Twist Ties, for Fast Propagation Plants (Size M)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514MWQxtWOL._SL500_.jpg)
