Reviews of Crystal Ridge Winery (Winery)

Margaret Honan

Warm, cozy, friendly atmosphere, great wines, and beautiful views.

Pan Joe

If you haven’t been here, then you should check it out! The building is beautiful, the wine is excellent, and the staff/owners are friendly. Not to mention, the view is amazing! I will definitely be back!

Trish Gizinski

Beautiful setting but the service leaves much to be desired. Wine is fair.

Joseph Santos

Not sure when $15 per person for a five-sample tasting became okay, but if that's the new normal my wine trail days might be over.

Kaela Schraer

Best winery in Connecticut

Sherri Fabbiano

My family hosted our baby shower at Crystal Ridge Winery and it was absolutely perfect. The winery is beautiful inside and out. We especially loved the views from upstairs out over the orchards. It is the perfect setting to go wine tasting or to host an event at. All of our guests loved the wine and we were happy with the selections they offered. Looking forward to returning to the winery this summer! Thank you to Tina James and her family for taking such great care of us. Highly recommend! :-)

Liz

To start off I had relative expectations for this place after visiting their website and reading other reviews. But, my experience turned out to be a negative one. To start off, upon entering the establishment the tasting area is hidden.There is a front desk with an antique cash register and then you have to look beyond that to see the tasting area. The customer service was wretched. My dude and I felt entirely uncomfortable as we approached. We were given a once over, then I was asked for ID while the girls informed his wasn’t necessary. They didn’t seem enthusiastic or interested in describing the wines they were serving. It was better to just read the description off of their menu instead. From my point of view their wines are far too acidic for my liking. To sum it all up, I will not be returning here. The only positive aspect were the views, seeing the sunset, and spending time with my guy.

Stanley Wawrzonkiewicz

Beautiful building and the location is gorgeous. The wine is good, above par of what you would expect from a Connecticut winery. Looks like a great place to have events.

Mudi Kenney

Came here the weekend they were featured in the Hartford Courant and it was packed! They have ample parking especially given the crowd (be prepared for a little bit of a walk from the parking lot when it's crowded). The place is beautiful, nice decor and super friendly staff. As mentioned, it was packed and there was a line for the tasting but it moved pretty quickly. I've been to other places that were less crowded and they rush you through tastings. Here, at Crystal Ridge, we didn't feel rushed at all. The lady doing our tasting talked us through the wines, answered questions, and generally made us feel very welcome. They have 2 tastings - one with the estate wines and the other with their reserves. We did both and thoroughly enjoyed it. They have good wines and I'm sure there is something for everyone. After the tasting, we got a few glasses of wine and stayed. They have plenty of seating - downstairs area, a porch, 2 sections upstairs and a deck. Overall, a really good place with good wine. We will be back.

Carmine Esposito

Great atmosphere, family run operation , wonderful wine

brittany

Amazing stunning views at this winery. Staff was extremely professional and polite. Great wine! A perfect place to go on a nice day to sit out and enjoy quality wine.

MattKim Ko

I was visiting family from Colorado, we were traveling with our 18mnth old daughter. My Aunt and uncle wanted to take us to a winery and we went to Crystal Ridge. Walking unto the property it was cute, the inside was also cute, but the sampling table area was small and tight. I do think the space could have been better utilized. As we made it inside there was older gentlemen holding a dog that approached us and stated that he was the owner and that we would be fine to have our daughter in the establishment. We wheeled our daughter's stroller in the corner of the room, we took turns doing our wine tasting. After the wine tasting and purchasing some wine which totaled up to about 150.00, we sat down to eat the food we brought in our self. The manager then comes to our table, mind you my daughter is in her stroller eating and not making a sound. She tells us that we can not have a baby in the establishment because she got a bad review the day before. We told her that the owner told us it was fine to have our daughter, she said that he speaks out of turn and all her other customer's pay for a babysitter. I was offended because: 1. We were told it was ok that we brought her in the establishment by the owner. 2. My daughter was quite, eating and minding her business. 3. We are good parents and if our daughter was being disruptive we would have taken her out without being asked to. 4. She waited to approach us after we spent 150.00 and after we started eating. 5. If you are visiting family and they are with you, you can't really hire a babysitter. What a ludacris request. All restaurant type establishments that serve alcohol with the exception of clubs and bars allow kids. If we want to get technical what about the dog that was in the building, what if I was allergic? Or anyone else for that matter. Her poor customer service and the way she made me feel as a customer is why I am writing this review. Needless to say we spent the rest of our stay at the winery outside waiting on our family members to finish there wine.

Nikki Reid

Great atmosphere and pricelesd views. The orchards are stunning! Great place to meet!

Paula Matteson

First time there!!! We loved it!!!

Thomas Tingley

Good wine...great atmosphere

Cathy Berey

Great wine, great atmosphere, and friendly staff. Wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Kamper Lainez

Beautiful views, great wine, and pleasant time

Laurie Nericco

Awesome place. Great Wine!

Bill Carabetta

Great place, Great friendly service and great wines.

Stephen Lewis

Nice view but very crowded and not much seating. Compared to other CT wineries it doesn't rank high up in my opinion. Too crowded for my taste. Wine was ok but pricey.

Stephen Dickison

The place is incredible and I liked most of the wine. Looking forward to going during warmer weather. Views are amazing.

Diana Paolino

great views nice but very expensive wines

Chris Hageman

You

Steven Rogers

Awesome place with outstanding views and great staff that serve excellent wines!!! .....just don't tell too many people!

Erika Alonso

Cab franc was delish. Beautiful view, beautiful space!

Hans Hansen

Great place great people serenely set in the orchards with great river valley views to Hartford

Lauren P

My friends and I came here to celebrate an engagement. The staff was very accommodating for such a large group. I called the night before and was assured a table would be reserved upstairs. We had a spacious area to celebrate and I would highly recommend this place for celebrations, or just to enjoy wine!

Alicia Marino

By far my favorite winery in CT. We had a big group come over the weekend for a birthday and they were so accommodating even though they had another big party that day as well. My family loved the space and the people and can’t wait to go back. The people are friendly, the views are outstanding, the space is so beautiful, and the wines are delicious!

Julie Kaplan

Pouring rain outside, but beautiful, clean and cozy inside. I will save the rest of my review until after the next visit. Hoping my friends and l just caught the manager on an off night. Maybe it was the rain....

Cindy Cable

Went there about 6 or 8 weeks ago. Wonderful ambience. Sat on the front porch the weather was beautiful and enjoyed a bottle of wine. The wine was excellent and the views are outstanding. Highly recommend a visit.

Jessica Santoro

Had been looking forward to trying this winery and unfortunately was disappointed. Space for wine tasting was very tight and staff wasn’t that friendly. In comparison to other wineries in CT it was also pricey.

Jaime W

Great wine, excellent location with breathtaking view. Little disappointed they don't allow kids, but I get it

Marc Petruzzi

Beautiful views and great wines. Just the place for a relaxing afternoon.

Bruce Thompson

What a spectacular view of the Connecticut River valley and Hartford. You have to experience it

Liz Brumleve

The Sav Blanc is really good. The live entertainment, Take 2, was exceptional. We will return

David Snow

Excellent! Great view, also. Their Chardonnay is a great bargain.

shelby raposo

There was a dead fly floating in my bottle of wine .... when I brought it to their attention they said they were sorry that a fly flew into my wine glass. They gave me a new glass with less wine that I had in my glass. I will not be coming back here I am very disappointed in the service and the wine is expensive for have a dead fly fragmenting in it !

Rachael Bedard

Definitely an absolute gorgeous winery! Enjoyed the sights for sure!!! The property itself is gorgeous, and I could've spent all day just sitting on the porch reading a book. I'm more of a sweet wine fan, and found they had a limited variety of wines that I actually enjoyed. I did find one I liked (the Vineyard White), but wasn't in love with the wine. Plenty of parking, and they had a live band on site too which was nice!!

Thomas Baude

The ambiance is terrific and the wine is excellent! A true hidden gem!!

Barbara Ann Fahey

Wonderful wonderful

R. Michael Lake

Beautiful setting, a bit expensive for the wine.

Jessica T

Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wine and the knowledge and hospitality of staff. Came during a busy rainy day but was able to have a very personal experience.

Mike Heimer

Excellent, friendly, great folks and great wine !

Cheryl LaClair

Beautiful view, friendly staff, good wine, lovely relaxing afternoon experience

Victoria Guerrera

Really nice vineyard inside and out. Looked fairly new. Good wine!

Sunni Surawski

Beautiful, relaxing, hospitable...

Marc Harris

Great wines! Nice location and great views.

Annie D

Poured out my first glass of wine and a dead beetle came out. We showed the management and asked about receiving a complimentary bottle and they said "No." Not good business, especially for a new place trying to establish a positive reputation! My advice, check your glass before you drink and perhaps choose Paradise Hills or Gouveia Vineyards in Wallingford!!

Michelle Wooding

Beautiful place and the wines are fantastic!!

Zofia Haggerty

Very nice place, good wine and beautiful view.