The idea of wine and Girl Scout cookie pairing came from the Millers’ many-year of association with the Girl Scouts. After attending a recent craft beer and cookie tasting, Lisa thought “why can’t we do the same with wine?” And so they did.
Baba means father or grandfather and Joon is a term of endearment. It's what his kids called him when they were growing up and what his grandkids call him now. Besides, the initials are the same as his nickname, BJ.
The beautifully designed labels make the wine a nice souvenir from a Hilton Head vacation, much more desirable, in my opinion, than another hat, t-shirt or water bottle. Wine is always a great gift, and a bottle with a beautiful label and a story about a fabulous trip is even more special.
The friendly, engaging and knowledgeable staff highlighted each wine’s distinct characteristics. The 2014 Estate Grown Rose of Sangiovese is a classically dry French-style Rose with aromas of strawberry, watermelon and cherry, and flavors of berries and plum. The 2013 Barbera, aged in American oak literally popped with cherry, blackberry, and notes of pepper. The 2012 oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon featured hints of black cherry and leather.
Les Pervenches delighted us with a Rose of Frontenac and Black Seyval. The berry of the Frontenac and the orange, honeycomb and strawberry flavors of the Black Seyval were a magical blend.
Our friends, like us, raved about class themed “Off the Hook” featuring seafood preparations with whites and sparkling wines. “Romantic Roman and Italian Dinners”, also immensely popular and fun feature the winery’s bold reds.
Elena and her team are highly conscious of the environment and make sure the winery meets or exceeds every standard for emissions. Water is re-used for irrigation. The goal is to have a completely sustainable winery.
After touching down in Bilbao, we made our way into the land of wine legends - Rioja. We came over the crest of a hill and there it was. Sprawling rolling viney...
"We make wine we like, because we might have to drink it" explained Judi, who serves as vineyard manager and assistant winemaker. It's advice they took to heart from Wes Hagen from Clos Pepe Winery. He told them early on to only grow and produce what they really like. Wine is really hard to sell if you're not passionate about it, he explained.
After their humble beginnings with one acre in Bryan that grew to thirty, they own 150 acres in West Texas and altogether there are more than 900 acres that are part of Messina Hof. In the late 80s and early 90s they started winning some major awards.
