{"id":2681,"date":"2026-02-18T01:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2681"},"modified":"2026-02-18T01:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:28:24","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-alpha-omega-melissa-paris-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2681","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series \u2013 Alpha Omega \u2013 Melissa Paris &#8211; December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Melissa-Paris-Alpha-Omega-Winemaker.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2458\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Melissa-Paris-Alpha-Omega-Winemaker-300x230.jpg\" alt=\"Melissa Paris - Alpha Omega Winemaker\" width=\"300\" height=\"230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Melissa-Paris-Alpha-Omega-Winemaker-300x230.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Melissa-Paris-Alpha-Omega-Winemaker-768x590.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Melissa-Paris-Alpha-Omega-Winemaker.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, we once again interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aowinery.com\/winemaking\/winemaker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Melissa Paris<\/strong><\/a>. Melissa is the winemaker for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aowinery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega Winery<\/strong><\/a>. We covered eight of her new 2023 vintage wines. All were Cabernet Sauvignon offerings from single vineyards. We met and interviewed Melissa for the first time in December 2024. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>our previous interview<\/strong><\/a> with Melissa, we covered the 2022 vintage wines as well as more about her background and the winery. You can learn what is new with Melissa and at Alpha Omega and read all about the terrific 2023 wines, in this post.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few new tidbits we learned during the tasting with Melissa.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 Vintage \u2013 A big vintage!<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Winemakers dream vintage. (Like 2018 &amp; 2021 combined)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Valley floor focused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lots of fruit. (30% more)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Really late pick. (Picked in late Nov.\/Dec.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A collector\u2019s vintage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2024 Vintage<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fruit was ready on time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mountain fruit did ripen early. Especially Atlas Peak.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not as big of a harvest as 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is more acidity in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Melissa is happy with the wines.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2025 Vintage<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bigger than expected crop.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Started as a really good vintage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Serious rain happened during harvest.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They picked first 45% of the harvest before the rains.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">10% definitely could be lost.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some results could be mixed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Paratus Vineyard<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">First single vineyard wine was vintage 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is their only dry-farmed vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It has very old vines, that were grafted over from Chardonnay.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thomas Vineyard \u2013 7 acres and they have 9 blocks.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pick decisions here are crucial.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They do control the farming, so that helps!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard \u2013 Paris&#8217;s favorite old vineyard.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After 2023 they ripped out the vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ideal comeback will be in 4 years from the replant.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They have had 2 blocks Beckstoffer&#8217;s To Kalon Vineyard. They now have a 3<sup>rd<\/sup><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pick decisions at this vineyard are critical.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2023 they picked 2 blocks 5 days apart.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beckstoffer&#8217;s Bourn Vineyard is a small vineyard across the street from Dr. Crane!<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">AO is in the old 1996 and 1997 blocks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cathy Corison was in there before them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sleeping Lady is always their last vineyard to be harvested.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is in the Mayacamas mountains and does not get a lot of hot sunshine.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Tench Vineyard is in the very eastern part of Oakville.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The vineyard has very good drainage,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The vineyard backs up to Screaming Eagle.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All the Cab from Tench goes into the single vineyard bottling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Andy Erickson is their consultant. They have a solid mentor relationship.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He is involved in blending and quality control.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They text every day during harvest!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Melissa\u2019s philosophy on picking.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They only pick at night.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Her three parts of the picking decision process.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1\/3 Chemistry. (The #&#8217;s)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1\/3 Taste.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1\/3 Guts and Experience. (No guts \u2013 No Glory!)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Finally, Melissa has great support from her owners. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aowinery.com\/story\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Robin and Michelle Baggett<\/strong><\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Alpha Omega that we covered. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aowinery.com\/Wine-Shop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Alpha-Omega-Logo.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1993\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Alpha-Omega-Logo.gif\" alt=\"Alpha Omega Logo\" width=\"275\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Paratus-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Paratus Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mt. Veeder) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Stagecoach-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Stagecoach Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Atlas Peak) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Thomas-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Thomas Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Rutherford) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Beckstoffer-To-Kalon-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Oakville) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Beckstoffer-Georges-III-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Rutherford) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">6) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Beckstoffer-Bourn-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (St. Helena) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">7) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Tench-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Tench Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Oakville) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 97<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">8) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Sleeping-Lady-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Sleeping Lady Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Yountville) $300 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 97<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Additional Wine Covered After Our Tasting With Melissa. (So Far)<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-Rutherford-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Rutherford&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $170 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">10) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Alpha-Omega-2023-ERA-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Alpha Omega 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon \u201cERA\u201d<\/strong><\/a> (Napa Valley) $340 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Alpha Omega wines that we cover on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine.php?winery=2033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>KWG Alpha Omega winery page<\/u><\/strong><\/a> on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! \u2013 Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, we once again interviewed Melissa Paris. Melissa is the winemaker for Alpha Omega Winery. We covered eight of her new 2023 vintage wines. All were Cabernet Sauvignon offerings from single vineyards. We met and interviewed Melissa for the first time in December 2024. In our previous interview with Melissa, we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[602,103,1756,2107,2263,2747,18,2264,104,88,11,2745,1778,123,1759,249,1294,2266,2201,1186,2750,3333,105,1256,126,8,6,1292,2202,1288],"tags":[904,2752,1762,2118,2762,2764,625,3326,1416,3328,2789,3327,2135,2751,3332,649,507,3330,3329,661,3325,3331,910,1327,2759,2256,1843,640,754,2769,2254,1725,897],"class_list":["post-2681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alpha-omega","category-andy-beckstoffer","category-andy-erickson","category-atlas-peak","category-beckstoffer","category-bourn-vineyard","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-era","category-georges-iii","category-high-end-wines","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-melissa-paris","category-mt-veeder","category-napa-valley","category-oakville","category-rutherford","category-screaming-eagle","category-sleeping-lady-vineyard","category-st-helena","category-stagecoach-vineyard","category-tench-vineyard","category-thomas-vineyard","category-to-kalon","category-virtual-wine-tasting","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-winemaker","category-yountville","category-zoom-wine-tasting","tag-alpha-omega","tag-alpha-omega-winery","tag-andy-erickson","tag-atlas-peak","tag-beckstoffer","tag-bourn-vineyard","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-chemistry","tag-era","tag-experience","tag-georges-iii-vineyard","tag-guts","tag-mayacamas","tag-melissa-paris","tag-michelle-baggett","tag-mt-veeder","tag-napa-valley","tag-no-glory","tag-no-guts","tag-oakville","tag-paratus-vineyard","tag-robin-baggett","tag-rutherford","tag-screaming-eagle","tag-sleeping-lady","tag-sleeping-lady-vineyard","tag-st-helena","tag-stagecoach-vineyard","tag-taste","tag-tench-vineyard","tag-thomas-vineyard","tag-to-kalon-vineyard","tag-yountville"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2681"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2687,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2681\/revisions\/2687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}