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Northern California
Our Story and Mission- Ever since we were old enough to drink wine, we have been frequenting winery tasting rooms throughout California. Our trips in the late 70’s involved stops at 6-8 wineries (or maybe more) in a day. My first date with my wife was a day of wine tasting in Sonoma 31 years ago. So we are experienced with this stuff. I think there are several ingredients to a satisfying Tasting Room experience. The wine has to be good for starters and generally the known wineries all put out pretty decent wine. But there are other key factors in making the experience memorable. Sometimes a classy tasting room works for us, but sometimes standing around a barrel outside does the trick. At other times it is just good service that pleases us. Certainly one of the keys is the person serving the wine. So there are a whole bunch of things that make visiting a Tasting Room a positive experience. The point of this blog is to talk about and recommend Winery Tasting Rooms where we have had good experiences.The blog was conceived after spending a weekend with my sisters who normally do not frequent wineries and running into a couple of disappointing stops.

Friday, November 2, 2012


Alpha Omega Winery
Rutherford (Napa), CA


Alpha Omega or AO is one of the best located wineries on Highway 29.  On any given weekend there is usually a crowd of people hanging outside in what is one of the best outdoor tasting spots you will find anywhere in the Napa Valley.  Oh, and the wine is really good also.

AO sits on the right side of Highway 29 right across the street from Provenance Winery as you drive north on 29.  This site has been the spot of many wineries over the past 15 years or so but I think AO is here to stay.  I remember, I think it was Quail Ridge Winery as well as Esquisse Winery being formerly located at this site and I seem to remember that Rusty Staub, the longtime major league baseball player, as either being associated with one of these or another winery on the site at one time.  We first visited AO maybe 5 or 6 years back and at the time when they opened the tasting room we thought it was going to be pretty good.

 

It turns out that the founders of AO actually have quite a background in the wine business.  One of the owners (Robin) originally developed over 800 acres in the Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County along with Tolosa Winery and a custom crush facility called Courtside Cellars.  We have tasted at Tolosa Winery, in the heart of Pinot and Chardonnay country, and have been impressed.  We have also been to an open house at the custom crush facility and there are all kinds of good wines being made here.   The second owner (Eric) has been involved in Napa Valley grape growing for more than 30 years. 
 

They could not have picked a better spot.  The tasting facility along with the inside horseshoe bar also include several private tasting spots along with a large outdoor area outfitted with very comfy couches overlooking a man-made pond with a huge sprouting fountain.  The owners are striving for a high end (World Class) wine and tasting experience and they’ve hit the mark. 
 

The tasting fee is $20 for four tastes.  A bit on the high side but when you compare it to the price of the wine it works out.  On this day we tasted a 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, a 2011 Rose, a 2009 Cabernet and a 2009 Red Blend.  All wines were good although the Rose was nothing special.  The Napa Valley Cabernet at $88.00 and the Proprietary Red, a Merlot /Cab blend at $90.00 were excellent.  We also got a sneak preview taste of the unreleased 2010 Chardonnay ($330.00 for a six pack) and it was of the classic creamy/oaky/malo style that will sure to be a hit with that crowd.
Personally I think AO is worth a stop but unless you are accustomed to spending $90.00 for a bottle of red wine I would just come for the tasting and great tasting facility.  One other big positive about AO is that it is open to 6PM.  Most wineries close at 4:30 or 5:00.  And one other note that may just apply to this week is that the SF Giants announcers Mike Krukow and Duanne Kuiper are friends with Robin the owner (Krukow grew up in San Luis Obispo) and this week AO is offering a 10% off Giant World Series Winners special.

What we liked- Good wine, great place to hang
What we bought- Nothing- We are hoping our relatives will give us a taste sometime.

Vitals:
Alpha Omega Winery
1155 Mee Lane
Rutherford, CA  94593
(707) 963-9999
www.aowinery.com
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