The $100 Wine Taste Fee Is Still Standing In Paso Robles: We Gauge It’s Impact After Their Anniversary.
A $100 California wine tasting is an oddity in California and Paso Robles as well. When Alpha Omega Collective opened last year with $50-$75-$100 tastings, we knew there would be a reckoning. We rarely observed more than one or two parties tasting in in the downtown storefront. We predicted they would either close down or change their marketing stance.
They chose the latter.
Visiting a year ago, we sampled a $50 and $75 flight with a group of three other local Paso couples. The pours were tight, concise and limited exactly to the described flight sheet. Four wines from two lists, we each had four wines samples, 2 ounces each. We were disappointed. Retail price $125.
We visited again with two other couples (one couple who make their own wine) expecting the same treatment. To our surprise we shared the tasting room with five other groups and just one host, Justin Young, the new tasting room lead. He was very busy man.
Thankfully the meager sampling of last year was replaced by a flowing spillway of wines created by the collective: Tolosa, Alpha Omega and Perinet . And, this broad sampling occurred even though he knew we were sampling gratis using the Atascadero Wine Pass we’ve written about.
Justin’s splash of Cabernet Rose came as a surprise along with another surprise splash of Sauvignon Blanc. This is the kind of service you expect with a $50, $75 $100 tasting. Extras, extras, extras, no corporate pours.
We suspect consumers voted with their dollars and didn’t reward Alpha Omega’s previous marketing position with visits. So the company pivoted their business plan. Good for them. Justin’s entertaining and insightful demeanor allowed us to enjoy wine from their three regions. He grew up in a central coast working for other wineries so this is not his first wine rodeo.
What did we taste?
2022 Alpha Omega Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon $86 ✰+
2021 Sauvignon Blanc 1155 Napa Valley $86 ✰+
2020 Toloso 1772 (Edna Valley) Pinot Noir $157 ✰+
2020 Toloso Solomon Hills Pinot Noir $137 ✰
2021 Tolosa Primera Pinot Noir (San Luis Obispo) $157 ✰
2017 Perinet Red Blend (Spain) $75 ✰+
2018 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) $149 ✰++
2021 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford (Napa Valley) $170 ✰
2018 Perinet Vina Mas Vell Garnatxa (Grenache) $120 ✰++
What joy to savor their broad collection of wine from Spain, Edna Valley, Napa Valley, Santa Maria Valley, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. We’re happy they’ve recognized part of the message and opened up their pouring. As we said before, ‘No Corporate Pours.’
Now let’s see how these $50-$75-$100 price points hold up. With wine consumption declining (see our recent stories here) we’ve seen wineries pulling back on hours and perks. Is Alpha Omega wine savory enough to support these price points?
Time will tell.
Some notes on our wine ranking system.
Bill & Erin Hodge write about California Wine, the estates & winemakers producing them and educational information about Vino. Living in California Wine Country provides a front row seat to the places you want to visit the most here in the Golden State.
– -✰ means -What’s next on your list of wines
-✰ means -Not liking it too much
✰ means -We’ll drink this wine, especially if it’s hosted!
✰+ means -You’ve got our attention and we might buy this wine.
✰+ + means -We’re hooked and we’re going to buy this wine.
When you see -✰/✰+ with a slash, it means we disagree.
