Cruse Wines


The flagship wine of Cruse Wine Co. is the red blend Monkey Jacket (the name inspired by an old, British sailor song). This wine embodies all the things Cruse Wine Co. is meant to be, as it’s a blend of Valdiguie, Carignan, Tannat, St Laurent and mixed field blend reds and provides incredible drinkability with brightness and ample structure. In addition to Monkey Jacket, Michael also makes small lots of single vineyard varietal wines from Valdiguie, Tannant, Syrah, Carignan and Chardonnay.

“But it’s the Cruse Wine Co. wines that best express who Michael Cruse is as a winemaker. Against a landscape that often feels dominated by either top-shelf Cabernet or acidic European emulations, the Cruse wines aim to reimagine what “table wine” can be: fruity, quaffable, affordable. And more than anything, they’re intensely loyal to their California origins.” –Esther Mobley, SF Chronicle - Skurnik