CRU Wine Company

Pull over!!! That’s what I told my boyfriend when I saw the sign for the winery. We were driving from Fresno to Groveland and had some time to kill. I decided I had dealt with enough of his photography stuff that he can drink some wine with me. I’m more of a sweet wine kind of girl, but still enjoyed the dry tastes of the CRU winery. I enjoyed it enough to buy three bottles. In my defense, one bottle was for my sister, one for my mom, and only one for me. Only when we got into the car did my boyfriend remind me that I had a 50 pound limit on my suitcase. It took some tough decisions and some maneuvering but all my wine arrived safely in Chicago. Totally worth it.

Signs off hwy 99 directed us nicely to the winery. It was a nice detour on our long trip. We walked into a nicely air conditioned foyer and bar. The hostess/​host were setting up for a Friday night event in their main room which was spacious and filled with barrells.
The tasting was incredible, and they offered us wines off the list as well. In the middle of our tasting we were given a tour of the winery. It’s small but a great space where they procure grapes from the central coast and bottle the wines. It was explained that grapes for most of their wines would not survive the heat Madera.
If we lived closed we likely would be back. Great stop for all those traveling the 99. Tasting fee is waived if you buy a bottle but checkin on Unilocal for free tasting otherwise.

Great wines, hostess stayed late to let us have a flight. We enjoyed talking with her and her amazing stories of living in Hawaii. She offered great horticulture knowledge and seemed really dedicated to her field. We appreciated the convo, the education of Crus wine and being told multiple times for us to come back again!

Great wine, good fun! Easy stop off the highway. Nice events if you are a wine club member.

We thoroughly enjoy the wine at Cru and the winery itself is a delightful place to linger. The staff (Lora and Nate) who helped with our daughter’s wedding at Cru last Saturday were exceptionally helpful. Our guests are still talking about how great the wine is!

Wine tasting was great. However, they told us that if we bought a bottle of wine, the $ 7 wine fee would be waived… They told us that the tasting was $ 9 for individuals, but for parties of 8 or more the tasting fee was $ 7. The wine tasting «itinerary» they brought all 15 of us, said $ 5 wine tasting… That was fine, no issue. After we paid for our $ 7 wine tasting fee, and went to buy 2 bottles of wine, they said the wine tasting fee isn’t waived for a party of 8 or more… Every person/​couple paid separately, so a party of 1 or 2, got charged the wine tasting fee and for the full price of the bottle/​s of wine. «Party of 8 gets charged $ 7 instead of $ 9 and the $ 7 fee gets waived when you buy a bottle.»
I made a phone call to the winery the very next day, anonymously, and asked how the wine tasting fee/​buying a bottle with a party of 8 or more worked because I had «heard» about them not waiving fees for «parties». Girl on the phone, (never told me her name), said «the fee is always waived».
Did I get swindled for my girlfriends birthday wine tasting, or are they not on the same page?

4 ½ stars. My co workers and other guest of around 50ish had the privilege of attending after seminar private function here. We were staying in Fresno and our supplier provided shuttle bus service to and from here for wine tasting and dinner.
It was a beautiful October evening and we arrived around 6:30 pm. We tasted wines and there was a huge presentation of crackers, figs & garlic spreads, cheeses and miniature sammies to nibble on with wine tasting. After a few tastings we entered the large barrel room where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of stuffed pasta shells, German sausage entrée, varieity of salads, breads and desserts while enjoying tastings throughout the dinner. I started off with Pinot and finished with cabernet — which was solid. On the patio we fired up Rocky Patel cigars for added special dessert!
I’ve heard so much about the wine tasting in this area from clients in Las Vegas NV and was so impressed I booked this new years holiday in Paso Robles!

Overall best wine tasting experience I have had. Reds and Whites 90+ points. Individual attention from friendly helpful staff. Right off the CA 99. Enjoy!

Love this winery. We found this winery several years ago and became members. The Cru girls that served us were very friendly and knowledgeable about their wine. I have read another review saying their red wine is boring. I just can’t believe how someone can say that. Their reds are so good that we drive from the Central Coast to Cru Winery.
We have been to several wine tasting parties and Ken, the winemaker is very informative and entertaining. We highly recommend this winery and encourage you to become members and enjoy their many events.
Also visit the Nut Store next-​door. Cru’s tasting room sometimes has their almonds. Great with their Chardonnay. Especially the Chili lime almonds.

More earthy wines. Beautiful winery.
I’m a huge red fan but found their reds pretty boring.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed their whites.
Pet are also aloud in the tasting room

Had a blast here with my friends today! We drank a bottle of wine on the patio with some cheese and salami! Not a great place to come if you are looking for a meal with your wine but they have great snack foods like Bravo farms cheese and other great wine snacks! Was very reasonably priced! Even on a hot day the patio was great because of the breeze and misters! The girls who were working the wine tasting counter were very friendly and knew how to find a wine for each of our tastes! I will be going back for sure! Great experience!

Nice large patio area for drinking wine.

It’s been a few days, and I still feel overly compelled to write a few words about Cru Wine Company.
I felt kind of misled by coming here in the first place, but the options for finding a nice quiet, clean place to have a picnic lunch and use the facilities seemed limited en route from the Bay Area down towards Fresno.
Coasting along the Highway 99 (I’m only kidding, I was flying)… I saw at least 4 – 5 billboards (perhaps 8 – 10, not sure on the exact billboard count) alerting me there was an amazing winery with wonderful nut and wine tastings. These billboards were obnoxiously overemphasized, by screaming at each passerby in big, bold red letters. Honestly, I don’t know how any single person with a set of eyes on the road could miss them.
My curiosity got the best of me, and I finally made the stop. The facilities (aka the restrooms) are clean and lovely; lovely meaning, far much better than any gas station or truck stop that I’ve ever had the pleasure of stopping through. The wine tasting room is very spacious and decorated crisply, minimalistic. It has that essence of a Napa or Sonoma wine tasting room, to the point of feeling like you are no longer in the Central Valley.
The ladies doing the pouring, were super friendly and welcoming. They even offered us guests to feel free to use their picnic/​patio area as we pleased. Okay, so now to the slightly misleading signs… The wine and nut tastings are not together, they are not even in the same building, nor the same company! Why was I so excited about them being together??? Not sure? Perhaps all those drives, I thought about how I was going to hear how the smokiness in the almonds brought out the peppery boldness of the blend in the glass… etc etc; nope, not happening, not even close. I had plenty more driving and business to attend to in the next few hours, so I browsed through their tasting menu of seven wines, opting for the last two on the list. After my glass was poured, the lady working, looked very seasoned and accustomed to my inquiry:
Me: So where are the nut tastings that go with the wine? {{smiles}}
Cru Lady: The wine tasting is right here {{she then points her arms and fingers up high and towards the next building over}} Nut tastings are right over there! {{big smiles}}
Me: There aren’t nut and wine tastings together? Like on all of the dozens of billboards I read? {{disappointed, but still smiling (I’ve got wine in my hand, I’m good) }}
Cru Lady: We are together! We are right beside each other! {{She raises hands up points down at the floor to themselves and then points right over to the «nut company”}} Just two different companies! {{big smiles}}
Me: Ohhhhh… I see…
The tasting was going great and I got over the misconception fairly quickly with a couple more sips. Impressive couple of wines they’ve got there at Cru; the Pinot Noir was great, but I chose the Mariposa because it resonated with my palette much more. A bottle of the 2009 Mariposa, (the last one on the tasting list 9÷1÷2012) was extremely reasonably priced and splendid, the first and second times around, both.
I will surely be stopping back by Cru for more wine, or even just to have a tasting and picnic, when I get the chance. Just be forewarned, there are no nut tastings to compliment their wine! (LOL!)

Being ignored during a wine tasting sours the wine. We had horrible service the woman behind the bar was so «into» the only other couple there that she never told us what we were tasting.
Being members at other costal winery’s we were very disappointed in the service. Wine was ok, just don’t know what was what.
We were going to head to paso but wanted to stay close to home wish now we had taken the drive to Paso.

A new building right off the freeway!
I was not very impressed by this place it seemed too corporate for me.
I really liked the St. Lucia Pinot Noir that was really good, but the place just does not have any character, its very clean and I feel they just want to sell you things instead of telling a story or showing off their passion.

If you’re driving north bound on the freeway past Madera, it’s hard not to know that Cru Winery wants you to come by for a wine tasting. Their billboards show up every few miles.
The property is quite nice. The front garden is nicely manicured, complete with a fountain. The inside of the tasting room has the standard, nice but generic look to it.
The staff member who assisted us in our tastings was friendly and conversational. The tasting was $ 5 a person (price waived if you purchased a bottle or checked in on Unilocal!), and the list was pretty extensive.
What didn’t I like about the experience? Quite honestly, the wine. The reds were – fine, but all the whites I had were simply not to my liking. I know calling the lots «whites» or «reds» makes it sound like I have no wine tasting experience, but that’s not the case. It just so happened that every single white I had was rough on my palette. I know, I know, it’s a matter of personal preference, but this wine just did not appeal to me whatsover. When I mentioned this to my boyfriend, he nodded knowingly. I would still suggest a visit, because wine preferences are pretty personal.

I concur w/​Joshua; Cru produces some awesome Pinot Noirs and Chards. Their wine release party was overflowing w/​Cru disciples! Rumor had it that 300 people RSVPd for the June 11 release. They also have a great Sangiovese and Syrah. Scored two Grizzlies tickets as part of the Cru wine release. If you’re not a wine club member, whatsamatterwith you?!

Produces some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California. Wine release parties are nice, good wine, good food, good people. Ken, the winemaker is very knowledgeable on all wines and offers delicious food ideas through his experience and his customer’s testimonials. Prices are good considering the quality is so good. Definitely a must stop if you’re in the Madera area!!!