Vinocruz

Good food. 5 dollar wine flight (via Unilocal) chill place. Nothing bad to say big this isint your kinda place then Santa Cruz mountain brewery is staggering distance across the street.

My daughter and I came into your shop today and we could have been invisible! It was my first time entering your shop and you couldn’t bother to say «hello». I didn’t know how your tasting worked, if you pay or get so many tastings for so much, but nothing from you as a shop owner wanting business. We’re having a dinner party Saturday night and thought it would be great to have a local wine to share with our friends, but you could not be bothered to help us out in any way! Not an acknowledgement that we even entered your store! I live on the westside and will continue to give my patronage to businesses who appreciate my business.
You only had 3 other people in the store at 1 table, so it wasn’t like you were full and didn’t have time to help customers, because that is what I would have been, a customer.

Stopped in for a taste, delicious. Steve was great!

Vinocruz is a Great Winebar with local Santa Cruz Mtn. wines! Steve and his staff are very knowledgable. I was here with a Meetup group. We had a great evening hanging out, tasting some local wines and enjoying some beautiful artwork that is on display.
I highly recommend Vinocruz ~ it’s a great example of local business supporting other local business!

Folks, this is as good as it gets in Santa Cruz!
Knowledgeable staff: CHECK
Great atmosphere for people of all sorts: CHECK
Great Amazing Wines: CHECK CHECK
VIP handling: CHECK
Always something new: CHECK CHECK CHECK… is this mic working…
I make coming here a part of my life, not just a hobby. I recommend coming to all those who visit Santa Cruz and eat and dine. Love Love Love. If you choose an alternative your really making a mistake, this is the place to be,

I love this place. Their shop is uniquely dedicated to the wineries that have ties to the Santa Cruz area. They always have flights so you ca try a bunch of great wines that might be new to you. You can also get glasses of wine as well. The staff is friendly and engaging. You feel that they are listening to you and make great recommendations. I little hard to find but way worth the effort.

We went to Vinocruz last night for the Rose tasting, and had a great time. The food was excellent and prepared with fresh local ingredients. The value was terrific and the pairings were very enjoyable.
One thing you can tell about Vinocruz almost instantly is that the owners and employees care so much about wine. It really shines through as a passionate endeavor, which really leads to a comfortable atmosphere. They lead instead of SELL, if that makes sense. We had a great time and hope to go again soon.
One other thing, the food was prepared by two young local chefs who were very enthusiastic and really got into explaining each pairing. That was a nice touch.

I randomly walked in with my mom this past weekend, and to our surprise found a local winery Hunter Hill pouring. Apparently every weekend a local winery has an event. A few random snacks were available and the staff were very pleasant. It seemed as something was missing, perhaps music or just more of a liveliness to the place but we did go in towards the tail end of the event. I would defintley come back. $ 5 for several pours and if you buy a bottle (local wines are usually around $ 15-​$ 30) the fee is waived.

Nice quiet environment with a nice selection of wines to have for a glass or purchase.
There were no restrooms with in a near proximity though.

A nice relaxing place to stop and sample wines before a meal. Our flight hit the spot, and we stayed for one more glass.
There are about 7 tables and one bar with a handful of chairs. About half of the people came in to taste wines, the others ordered their favorites and relaxed. No college kids here, the atmosphere is much more adult-​friendly. The owner loves to talk about the wines and events, and is very helpful with recommending local places for out-​of-​towners.
I think the prices are very reasonable for tastings, wines by the glass, and by the bottle. If you check in on Unilocal,you get a cheaper tasting, but if you buy a bottle from the tasting, your tasting fees are waved. Vinocruz also has a free corkage program with some of the downtown restaurants, so you can save even more that way.

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I wouldn’t even know this wine bar if it wasn’t for Unilocal.I was about to meet some friends for dinner and it was early, I thought I should have a glass of vino before then. Glad I came in to Vinocruz. Cute little wine shop, serves only local Santa Cruz Mountains wines.
I checked in with Unilocal and got my discount on the wines tasting. The host was really nice, shown me a few wines and explained a few new arrivals. I ended up bought a few bottles. Cute shop, support local winemakers and wineries, I like that!

I just visited Vinocruz for the first time this week and had a great visit. Ryan is a total pro… go see him for some incredible wines and local winery knowledge.
Enjoy!

I had the pleasure of getting to go wine tasting at this fine establishment this past Tuesday (8÷7÷12). We almost missed it but so glad we were able to find it.
Our Host Ryan was the best. Very knowledgeable about all the wines, where they came from and how they are made. So it was a tasting and learning experience for me. I learned a lot in a small amount of time.
If you are into wine or are interested in trying and learning about wine, this is a heavenly little place to try. I can’t wait to revist.

We LOVE this wine bar! It features local wines and brings in local vintners almost every weekend to pour and discuss their wines. Their tasting menu changes each week, so it is great fun to try a new variety of wines (some that I would not particularly order if they were not part of the tasting menu.) The owners and Ryan, who is often there pouring, are very knowledgeable about the wines and always have interesting stories about the winery, the area, the winemaker or his/​her family, or hysterical antidotes of some sort to share. They really go out of their way to help and make you comfortable. They make it a very friendly, open, casual, fun spot to stop.
They feature local artists’ artwork in their shop which is rotated bi-​weekly or monthly. A nice touch.
The location (next to Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History) is very convenient and I appreciate their focus on local wines and talent. Couldn’t be happier with this place!

I’ve dealt with the two guys at Vinocruz a couple of times now and have been very impressed. We try our best to buy local wine as much as possible and this place really stands out above the rest. The staff are friendly and knowledgable but not overbearing — which is nice as we are definitely not connoisseurs.
My fiancée and I went in today to look for a special bottle to be part of our wedding. We picked one out after a tasting from a local vineyard (another plus) and the owner gave a beautiful box to store the wine in insisting that it was their gift to us.
If you are looking for good wine without pretentiousness, Vinocruz is a sure bet.

We stumbled across this place tugged inside a side corner on a side street in Santa Cruz downtown. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon but the owner was very friendly and hospitable.
We have a young baby, so by law we can’t carry her into the tasting room or patio. So we had to go in and out of the place to watch the baby while tasting the wine. It may not be very convenient when it gets crowded.
Despite the good service, the wine on the other hand wasn’t very good. Even the owner admits on one of the choices, but it does offer quite a variety of choices.

I’ve been coming here for quite a while now it seems, since the original owners opened this place up, and have been loving it ever since.
Great selection of Santa Cruz Mountain wines and their weekly flight is usually fantastic, with a detailed discussion with the owners and sometimes wine maker.
It’s worth it to join the Vinocruz tasting club. Never walked away without a full case of wine en towe.

When an establishment closes for several weeks for renovations and does not update its website, it officially fails the Internets and receives a score of zero. I was in a hurry to get some wine for dinner, so thank god Soif was a couple blocks away (though their selection is strongly Euro-​focused, and doesn’t have nearly the range of Santa Cruz Mountains bottlings as Vinocruz will carry). According to the sign on the door, Vinocruz re-​opens August 20^th.
Protip: Despite a Front St. address Vinocruz’s closest pedestrian entrance will be on Pacific Ave.

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you are treated so poorly, you take a sneak peek around to see if Candid Camera is shooting a special, and the joke is on you? Me neither, at least until last weekend when we sat down at one of the two outdoor tables for the flight tasting.
If being treated with complete indifference, and lack of social skills isn’t a big enough turn off maybe the brusk «don’t ask me questions glare’ from the overly uptight owner will give you a giggle.
Apparently being a wine-​loving local isn’t enough. I went thru my check list: brushed my teeth, out on a date and dressed nicely, bought wine, have ability to pay, and still treated like a vagrant.
Skip the ‘tude and head to Bonny Dune on the west side. nice service, nice local wine, and a smile at no extra charge.

As a huge fan of Santa Cruz Mountain wines, this place is like a little slice of heaven. While I love actually visiting local wineries, meeting the winemakers, and taking in the scenery, Vinocruz hits the spot when I need my wine fix in the heart of Santa Cruz. It’s sort of like a «best of» list of all my favorites (Sones, Alfaro, Soquel), as well as some smaller wineries that I’d never even heard of because they aren’t generally open to the public.
The owners have always been super friendly and helpful in suggesting wine that might be to my liking. Prices tend to run from about $ 15 up to closer to $ 50 for the oh-​so-​delicious Heart o’the Mountain Pinot Noir, but a lot of their really impressive ones hover right around $ 25, perfect for a unique bottle to serve to friends without breaking the bank.
Tastings change weekly and will run you $ 9 for five wines, waived if you purchase $ 60 of vino or more (tempting every time!!). They also do tasting wines by the glass and the occasional $ 5 per glass special, so you’ll often find a mix of loyal Vinocruz patrons and those that have stumbled across the shop for the first time hanging out chatting about wine, Santa Cruz, and life in general. I frequently bring friends here, especially for the winery events on weekends, and we’ve never been disappointed.
Vinocruz is a gem of a local business!