Melissa Paris

A native of West Covina in Southern California, Melissa was a professional musical theatre dancer when she discovered her interest in wine. This newfound passion led her to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she earned her BS in Wine and Viticulture with a concentration in Enology. Melissa gained advanced exposure to diverse winemaking techniques and viewpoints, along with valuable lab experience, by working both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere harvests for a period of six years. Melissa’s experience working with winemaking teams in Australia, New Zealand, and California provided valuable insights with their unique and highly regionalized winemaking decisions.

Since joining the winemaking team at Alpha Omega in 2020 as the Assistant Winemaker, Melissa's role has rapidly expanded. Melissa's responsibilities have included managing all aspects of quality control, including lab operations, overseeing technical winemaking to optimize production flow, and making component and final blending decisions across all AO wines. Additionally, she led the adoption of in-house advanced lab technology, ensured rigorous quality control procedures throughout wine production, and developed protocols for cellar and bottling operations. These accomplishments lead to Melissa’s promotion to Associate Winemaker in the beginning of 2023 and to Winemaker in July, 2024.

Continually seeking to improve her winemaking skills and expertise, Melissa is an active participant in an all-female wine industry peer & tasting group, and she is currently studying for her Global Wine Executive MBA at Sonoma State University, where she has been awarded The Patrick Foley Inclusive Excellence Scholarship two years in a row.