A legendary Texas winery is bringing a touch of sweetness to Grapevine.

Vintner Messina Hof is featuring the company’s new collection of off-dry whites at its location in the historic Wallis Hotel in Grapevine. Released in March, it comes in three varieties: a Reisling, with flavors of lime, pear and apricot that pair well with salty food and snacks; a Muscat Canelli with notes of melon and lemon, good with a summer salad or spicy stir fry; and a Gewürztraminer, which enhances the flavors of lychee, ginger and mango on the palate and goes well with seafood and pasta.

Paul Mitchell Bonarrigo and wife Karen at Messina Hof.

The wines were designed for pairing with Texas foods and to appeal to Texas taste buds, said Paul Mitchell Bonarrigo, chief executive and co-owner of the family-owned winery started by his parents in the 1970s.

“Texas in general as a market does drink quite a bit of sweet wine,” he said. “Close to 60% of the market in Texas is not dry.” The new collection has done “incredibly well” with just a touch of residual sugar, he said.

The collection is “just shy of dry,” said Paul Mitchell’s wife, Karen, chief administrative officer and co-owner of the Messina Hof brand with wineries and storefronts in Bryan, Fredericksburg, Richmond and Grapevine. The new collection acts as “chameleon” wines, she said. “They’re very elegant wines, but also very flexible, especially with food pairings that are nontraditional foods” for wine such as spicy, fried and snack foods.

The new collection is part of a long tradition of innovation by Messina Hof in the growing Texas wine market. The whole enterprise started as a hobby by Paul Mitchell’s parents, Merrill and Paul Vincent Bonarrigo. Although wine making was in his blood with five previous generations of Sicilian wine producers in the family, Paul Vincent took a turn out of the business and became a physical therapist in Bryan. After reading a study on the potential for wine production in the state by Texas A&M, however, he and his wife, Merrill, became curious and started growing grapes on 1 acre.

Messina Hof is featuring its new collection of off-dry white wines in Grapevine.

Soon locals started coming to the door asking for their wines, so the Bonarrigos opened a wine tasting venue on their property, later starting an annual festival. Messina Hof was born in 1977, the fourth winery in the state.

Paul Mitchell remembers those early days, crawling in the vineyard and stomping on grapes, he said. By 8, he was a part-time employee reporting his salary to the IRS.

“It was part of my upbringing,” he said. “The concept of being in the family business was ingrained in me from Day One. I knew I’d always be involved with the business in some way.”

But Paul Mitchell also walked away from the family business, went to the Naval Academy and became a commissioned officer in the Marine Corp. Right before his second deployment to Iraq, he said his father took him aside and told him he wanted to retire and hand the business over to him. At that time, his parents had run the business for 30 years.

So in 2010, Paul Mitchell became the seventh generation of Bonarrigos in the wine industry.

Today, Messina Hof is a force in the Texas wine industry. It owns around 700 acres outright or with partners, producing 31 varieties of grapes. The winery produces 200,000 gallons a year or 65,000 cases. That makes Messina Hof the fourth largest winery in the state, but the first using 100% Texas grapes. The winery has participated every year in Grapevine’s GrapeFest since the festival began in 1986 and earned numerous People’s Choice awards. In addition to their own locations, Messina Hof also now can be found locally in most major groceries and liquor stores, like H-E-B, Specs, Total Wine, as well as online and at restaurants and bars.

Paul Mitchell and Karen have expanded the Bryan estate to include an award-winning bed and breakfast and restaurant. The Richmond restaurant and winery is the largest of its kind in the Houston area. Messina Hof also has established itself as the largest producer of Sagrantino grapes in the nation. The grapes make a rich, dark red wine with fruit flavors and notes of cinnamon.

Messina Hof’s Grapevine location is in the historic Wallis Hotel.

The Grapevine location at 201 S. Main St. is inside the historically recreated Wallis Hotel, so authentic in its finishes of the 1891 version once located a few blocks away that the Bonarrigos routinely get requests for room reservations. The location offers Messina Hof wine and small bites for walk-ins and has a tasting and event space upstairs that requires a reservation.

The Texas wine industry is in its “teenager” years in terms of its potential, said Paul Mitchell, who has served as president and board member of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association.

“We have learned a lot of lessons over the last 40 years,” he said. “Technology and innovation has really accelerated the quality of the fruit we’re producing now. But Texas is huge. There is still so much of the state that has not truly been explored for grape growing. There’s still a lot of youthful excitement, too. Our industry is growing, and people are starting to become more aware of Texas wines.”

The couple may be growing the next generation of Bonarrigos in the business: their 14-year-old daughter, Sophia, is already developing her pallet with smelling and small sips to taste, Karen said. Both she and her younger brother, Paul Anthony, work summers at the winery.

“If I had the perfect story, I would like for them both to be involved,” Paul Mitchell said.