CRU Winery - Santa Lucia Highlands Tasting Room

CRU Winery’s Santa Lucia Highlands Tasting Room in Soledad, California, offers a local stop for wines made from grapes sourced across California’s Central Coast. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah anchor the winery’s focus on varieties associated with France’s Burgundy and Rhône regions. The emphasis is on bottles for everyday drinking as well as special occasions, rather than wines that require an occasion of their own. Behind them is winemaker Jose Reyes, a member of the CRU team since 2009, whose approach favors letting the grapes express themselves without heavy intervention.

Reyes’s winemaking roots run through Bargetto Winery in Santa Cruz, and his son Juan works alongside him in the cellar and lab. For travelers, CRU Winery’s Soledad location puts that Central Coast focus on the itinerary at 37500 Foothill Road. The Santa Lucia Highlands tasting room opens Thursday through Sunday, from late morning through the afternoon, making it a weekend-oriented stop rather than an early-week option. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay give visitors the clearest starting point for understanding CRU’s Burgundy-inspired focus, with Syrah broadening the picture.