Palate fatigue: It’s been the scourge of wine tasters for years. Many tasters just cannot distinguish different wines after tasting a few; the flavors begin to blend together.
But two Cal Poly graduates have created an innovative new product they say will take all the confusion out of a tasting experience.
SanTásti is the brainchild of Andrew Macaluso and Nicole Chamberlain, two wine and viticulture graduates who created the palate cleanser beverage after taking classes in sensory analysis at Cal Poly.
“After doing a sensory panel for our senior project we looked at another criteria,” Macaluso said. “Quality (was given) based on order it was tasted in. The results showed wines tasted second almost always scored better than the (wines) first.”
The two decided they wanted to do something about this.
“Palate fatigue has always plagued the wine industry,” Chamberlain said. “Right now, Pellegrino water and crackers are the only alternative offered. It came down to whether there was a market for it. So we decided to take a chance and see if it could work.”
They started testing a few milliliters of their product with other members of the wine and viticulture sensory analysis classes they were apart of.
The results were positive enough that the two students entered the Cal Poly Innovation Quest contest.
“We owe a lot to Innovation Quest,” Chamberlain said. “We won first place in last year’s contest. We entered thinking ‘Let’s meet some people and network and see what we can get out of it’ and won first place. It gave us validation in thinking, ‘We’re not crazy, we can pull this off.'”
With the prize money in their pocket, the duo began visiting local wineries and testing SanTásti. They toured 30 wineries in 30 days.
“We went day by day,” Macaluso said. “You slowly move forward and here we are.”
One of the local wineries carrying SanTásti is 15 Degrees C in Templeton. Owner Ali Rush Carscaden said that the beverage is so popular that they are nearly sold out and will soon order another shipment.
“As a wine connoisseur I love it,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea and it works very well.”
Rush Carscaden added that wine drinkers aren’t the only ones buying SanTásti.
“It’s great for palate cleansing after a big meal or a cup of coffee in the morning and it’s a light refreshing beverage in addition,” he said.
Less than three months after their initial production run, SanTásti has not only taken off on a local level; word of mouth has put them on an international stage.
“We’re having a lot of distributors approaching us,” Macaluso said. “We’re even talking to people outside the country in London and in Tel-Aviv, Israel about exclusive distribution rights.”
The first production run went so well that the duo has stopped actively taking orders for the beverage while preparations are made for a second production run.
SanTásti comes in three flavors: the original, which is similar to a sparkling water, cinnamint and peppermint. Macaluso said that the retail price varies in places but is generally between $2.50 and $3 per bottle.
Macaluso and Chamberlain said that Cal Poly’s resources helped them tremendously in SanTásti’s creation.
“Cal Poly is a great school with great resources to take advantage of,” Macaluso said. “There are a lot of people on campus that want to start a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Chamberlain agreed, adding that students should be proactive with their creative ideas.
“I would urge any student with an idea, don’t be afraid to break the mold,” Chamberlain said. “There are a lot of resources out there if you just ask.”