Alpha Omega Winery is a new winery, with its first vintage in 2006. The winery occupies the facilities that once were Quail Ridge Winery and then Esquisse Vineyards. It is located just off Highway 29 on Mee Lane in Rutherford.
There are big plans for Alpha Omega. First, there is construction going on throughout the winery that includes plans for a beautifully remodeled tasting room. The tasting room will have picture windows where visitors can view the vineyards and the barrel room. But the most important plan is for the wines. The two owners, Robin Baggett and Eric Sklar, have a goal of making premium Cabernet Sauvignon from their estate vineyards in the Napa Valley. They do make a Chardonnay and a Rose, but the emphasis is to make the finest Cabernet Sauvignon possible.
Even though construction abounds at the moment, the scenery is quite beautiful here. Outside the tasting room, there is a large deck with picnic tables that overlook a pretty pond with a spewing fountain. It is a nice spot for a picnic lunch, although not exactly quiet. The construction is a nuisance that will eventually go away, but then there is the traffic from Highway 29.
In the tasting room the service is first class. The wine glasses are the best and the host is well schooled in serving the wines. The wines were all delicious but on the expensive side. The two Cabernets were $52 and $56 a bottle. In all, we tasted four wines for $10. Overall, our experience was a little too formal. We like a casual happy-go-lucky experience. We got the feeling they were trying too hard to impress.
The Good: Picnic area and good tasting wines.
The Bad: Construction going on, need to loosen up the tasting.
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