Master Sommelier Bob Bath Partners with Alpha Omega Collective
RUTHERFORD, Calif. — November 28, 2018
There are currently 249 Master Sommeliers in the entire world. The Alpha Omega Collective has just partnered with one of them.
Master Sommelier Bob Bath has been announced as a consultant for the Alpha Omega Collective, the umbrella brand for Alpha Omega, Tolosa and Perinet wineries. Bath will work across all three brands with the direct-to-consumer, direct-to-trade and wholesale teams, as well as other key departments within the organization.
What It Means to Be a Master Sommelier
The title of Master Sommelier is among the most difficult credentials to earn in the entire wine world. Bath passed the Master Sommelier exam in 1993, making him one of the first 25 people in the United States to achieve it. He is one of only 158 professionals to hold the title through the Americas chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Robin Baggett was direct about what that credential means for the Collective and its team.
“We are very fortunate to add someone with Bob’s impressive credentials to our team. In addition to achieving the world’s highest sommelier title, he is known as an excellent teacher. We are excited to have his experience and knowledge and for the opportunity to utilize those attributes throughout our organization.”
— Robin Baggett, Vintner and Managing Partner, Alpha Omega Collective
Thirty Years in the Wine World
Bob Bath’s path to Master Sommelier began not in a wine cellar but in a college restaurant kitchen. A third-generation Californian born and raised in Davis, Bath discovered his love of wine while working in fine dining restaurants during summers at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he and Robin Baggett both played baseball and graduated from the university.
That personal connection matters to Bath.
“Robin and Michelle Baggett are good friends. They have been very successful in an extremely competitive business by understanding the market, recognizing opportunities, creating a great team and just plain hard work. That is the kind of company I like to work with.”
— Bob Bath, Master Sommelier
Over the 30 years since graduating, Bath has worked in virtually every dimension of the restaurant and wine industry. After nearly a decade managing high-profile restaurants and wine programs, he spent the next decade as National Sales Manager for Shafer Vineyards in Napa Valley, one of the valley’s most respected producers.
In 2000, he founded his own company, Robert Bath MS Wine Education and Consultation. Since then, he has partnered with more than 30 high-profile organizations including The French Laundry, Duckhorn Vineyards, Charles Krug, Crystal Cruises, Taj Hotels and Kendall-Jackson.
Teaching the Next Generation of Wine Professionals
Beyond his consulting work, Bath has built a parallel career as one of the wine industry’s most respected educators.
He joined the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley as an adjunct professor in 2004 and moved into a full-time position in 2010. At the CIA, he has been instrumental in developing the Wine and Beverage Graduate Certificate program, the first college graduate-level wine and beverage program of its kind in the United States. He also helped launch the CIA Sommelier Summit in 2015.
It is that combination of credentials, industry relationships and teaching ability that makes Bath’s partnership with the Alpha Omega Collective so well suited. The Collective’s ambition is not just to sell great wine but to build a team that understands it deeply and can communicate its quality and character across the hospitality, media and direct-to-consumer channels where the Baggetts’ brands compete.
About the Alpha Omega Collective
The Alpha Omega Collective, founded in 2018, is the umbrella brand for vintners Robin and Michelle Baggett’s wineries, which include Alpha Omega on the Rutherford Bench of Napa Valley, Tolosa in San Luis Obispo, California and Perinet in Spain’s Priorat region. Each winery showcases its deep regional roots where the influence of the sea and stunning, rock-laden soils combine to produce world-class wine with unique accents. The individual personalities are unmistakable, but the Collective stands as one.
About Alpha Omega
Founded in 2006 by Robin and Michelle Baggett, Alpha Omega began as a direct-to-consumer pioneer and now sells 95% of its wine through this channel. Located on Highway 29 in the legendary Rutherford Bench of Napa Valley, Alpha Omega produces world-class, Bordeaux-style, handcrafted wines made with grapes from prized, historic vineyards. Winemaker Jean Hoefliger and consulting winemaker Michel Rolland craft each vintage with meticulous care.
With its landmark fountains, tranquil pond and stunning views of the Mayacamas Mountains and vineyards, the winery exudes a sense of place and offers hospitality reflective of the farming community. Alpha Omega’s land and winery are Napa Green certified.
