CRŪ Winery’s Soledad tasting room is one of those rare places where the wine is only half the story, because the setting itself does so much of the talking. While their Madera location remains the home base, Soledad is the only other official CRŪ tasting room, and membership benefits flow seamlessly between the two. But the moment you arrive in Soledad, the contrast is immediate: the landscape opens into rolling vineyards, golden hills, and that unmistakable Central Coast light that makes everything feel a little more cinematic.
It helps that Soledad is literally known as the gateway to Pinnacles National Park — a national park just minutes away — and the geography shows it. The tasting room sits in the middle of this dramatic terrain, with views that make you want to linger long after your flight is finished. On this visit, the highlight wasn’t just the scenery but the quiet excitement around their upcoming release: José’s Rosé, a rosé of Grenache from the Santa Maria Valley.
I had the unusual privilege of trying it two weeks ago as an unlabeled bottle, and even in that early state it was already bright, expressive, and full of promise. CRŪ will officially release it this May, and tasting it again here, with the vineyards stretching out toward the foothills, felt like the perfect introduction. Between the beauty of the Soledad location and the debut of a new wine that captures CRŪ’s style so well, this visit felt like a reminder of why the winery continues to grow — not just in membership perks or tasting rooms, but in the experiences they create across two very different, equally welcoming spaces.
