These Wines Pair Well With Preserving History and Community Support

We’ve written about the intrinsic value of having your winery help support a community cause in Vintner Magazine, but a Central Texas winery has taken that to another level, creating a line of wines aimed at giving back to a museum in its community devoted to preserving World War II history.

Messina Hof Winery’s newest commemorative collection of five wines is co-branded with The Admiral Nimitz Foundation and the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. The museum remains a big tourist draw in Central Texas and Fredericksburg, which is a prominent part of the burgeoning Highway 290 Wine Trail that has exploded in growth during the past decade.

The wines have layers — both literally and physically. The newest offerings have special names and each varietal is crafted with characteristics representative of the piece of World War II history they represent.

The wines were crafted specifically to provide support to the museum with an ongoing portion of the collection’s sales proceeds going there, winemaker and co-owner Paul Bonarrigo said.

“Messina Hof Winery is proud to be a veteran-owned business and family winery with a history of three generations of United States military service,” Bonarrigo said. “It is an honor to craft and showcase a wine collection for the ages that pays respect to the brave men and women that served during World War II and specifically in support of the Pacific War operations. We encourage everyone to raise a glass in gratitude of our nation’s history of strength and fidelity, and we hope that people feel inspired to learn more about the war effort in the Pacific and visit the Museum.”

The winery collaborated with the museum to create the collection and come up with each wine’s back story.

“We are extremely grateful for the support we have enjoyed over the years from Messina Hof, and this wine collection is an ambitious endeavor that demonstrates a unique commitment to helping the Museum,” said Mike Hagee, President and CEO of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation. “And, I might add that we enjoyed collaborating with Messina Hof on the names and historical tidbits that identify each of the wines.”

Messina Hof’s five new wines in this commemorative collection include Operation Iceberg, Code Girls, Old Texas Roundup, Command Post and Admiral’s Reserve. The full history and stories behind each label can be found on Messina Hof’s website. 

• Operation Iceberg: Operation Iceberg is a crisp, dry white blend with notes of citrus, lemongrass and pineapple. Launched by the Allies to capture the strategically significant Okinawa Island, Operation Iceberg activated more than 1,300 ships and over 500,000 Allied personnel to create the greatest amphibious offensive of World War II. 
• Code Girls: A semi-sweet white blend with notes of jasmine and ripe tropical fruit, Code Girls pays homage to the elite group of more than 10,000 female codebreakers of the same name that served during the war. 
• Old Texas Roundup: In January 1944 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy, Chester W. Nimitz, hosted an “Old Texas Roundup” for all Texans serving in the Pacific in order to keep their fighting spirit strong. Old Texas Roundup is a dry red blend boasting notes of blackberry, smoke and earthy richness.
• Command Post: The number one priority for an ideal command post position is survivability. It is the nerve center of a battle campaign as it holds the tools and personnel from which both strategic and tactical decisions will emanate. This full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon showcases suede tannins with notes of plum, spices and toasted oak.   
• Admiral’s Reserve: This dessert red has notes of leather, black cherry, dried herbs and licorice. It pays homage to Fredericksburg native and Pacific War hero Admiral Chester Nimitz. The National Museum of the Pacific War remains committed to its promise to Admiral Nimitz to honor all who served and supported the war effort in the Pacific by proudly presenting the facts, stories, and authentic artifacts of the Pacific War for today and generations to come.

Available for tastings or by the bottle, this commemorative collection can be purchased at each of Messina Hof’s four locations across Texas: the Estate Winery and Vineyard in Bryan, the Messina Hof Hill Country Winery in Fredericksburg, Messina Hof Grapevine Winery in Grapevine (near Dallas) and Messina Hof Harvest Green in Richmond (near Houston). Consumers can also purchase bottles of the wines through Messina Hof’s website.