Crux Winery
Updated: Jan 13
So hidden away, your GPS may struggle to find it.
North of Healdsburg in a remote Lytton Station warehouse which houses 7/6 wineries.
A tribute to Russian River Valley wine characteristics.

You taste wine in a corner of the building surrounded by wine barrels.
The tastings are served from a makeshift rustic bar, warehouse chic style.
A thick slab of wood balanced on two barrels.
Two Crux guys, Founders, Steve Callahan and Brian Gower
Referred to as “some of the nicest dudes you’ll ever want to meet.”
They bucked the RRV trend: no Pinot or Chardonnay in their portfolio
Instead they produce Rhone varietal wines, a true RRV anomaly.
Their grapes grow on the warmer side of Russian River Valley.

Wines:
Grenache, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache Blanc and Viognier–as well as Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc.
Steve and Brian met in 2005, neighbors living in the Windsor/Healdsburg area.
A friendship deepened over a joint passion for winemaking.
Wine making in a garage became their thing.
Next they planted a 1 ½ acre vineyard together.

Seven vintages later they are going strong.
They claim it was rookie good luck because they made drinkable wine from the start.
Zin was an early success, a friendly grape. Also they insist……
Their grapes come from one of the greatest grape growing regions in the world.
So they needed to know how to do winemaking……..
They Googled it. Watched a lot of winemaking video tutorials.
They discovered there are not a lot of trade secrets in the Sonoma wine making world.
Teamwork is ripe in the industry, less competition, even borrowing a tractor is standard.
Steve and Brian have day jobs, big corporate jobs in the health care sector.

They devote every spare minute to their passion, wine making.
Eventually the plan is to give up their day job.
Why the brand name Crux? They struggled for a year to decide.
Then a friend’s observation…
They grow grapes at the crux (the heart, the core, the center) of 3 AVA’s!
Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley.
Perfect!
#GrenacheBlanc #Zinfandel #Rosé #Grenache #Viognier #Mourvedre #Syrah #PetiteSirah