Our favorite winery in Paso...or at least tied with Chronic! We came here on a December morning and were the only ones. We had a very personal and friendly tasting and enjoyed our conversations with the owner. Their tasting is for 8"ish" wines...they will let you taste more. We could not believe how impressed we were. There waa not a single wine we disliked (and this was only our 2nd tasting of the day.) We ended up buying a bottle and having a glass. Highly recommend this winery!!! read more

Dark Star Cellars - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

Very nice people, but the wine all smelled like raisins. I don't know if the bottles were old they served us at the tasting but we were disappointed. read more

Lots of pours for the price. not a very attractive winery and the wines were not to my taste.

Great service and great wine. Treated to way too many tastes of every wine they had! Ha. Bought three bottles of wine and one Port!!!!!! Mike was great to work with! read more

Not following the law affects all of us because you could be the next covid 19 outbreak that causes all wineries to get shut down. We visited here on Friday afternoon and the employees were not wearing masks, they asked us to wipe down our own table and they were allowing customers to drink wine inside the tasting room. We did not stay because I refuse to support businesses who do not follow the county health orders. read more

Went there with a group of friends (11 people) last weekend. We just walked in without any reservation and we had a great time there. This is a down-to-earth kind of winery with good selection of wine. It's $15 for their tasting which contain 8 wines. If you buy a bottle, the tasting amount will be deducted. On top of the wine, you are also getting unlimited (and delicious!) cheese and snacks, some simple lunch food (pasta, tacos, salad and bread). There was a live band performing outside. I took one star off because one of the staffs who served us wine seems to have very limited knowledge for their own wine! He told us himself that he hasn't tried those wine. Other than that, I have no complaint. read more

Great attention to the visitor by the owner and his staff. Wine tasting was an 8-pour tasting which is pretty generous for the area. We enjoyed the reds and got to learn about the process. I would recommend visiting this winery. read more

Wine is comparable to the best Paso has to offer and about half the price. Nice low key atmosphere. No pretense here just really good wine.

This place is so fun! My sister and I did a harvest host stay Halloween weekend. Friday night was karaoke! Not usually our thing but we had a blast! The owner is so nice and easy going! Wines are solid and the setting is lovely! Check it out! read more

The wines here are amazing. Friendly and laid back atmosphere. Great stop for couples and families. We always go here first when in town because they are so helpful. read more

I love the wines these folks make. Definitely some fruit forward examples if like myself you enjoy that. Try the Anderson Road, Zin & Petite Shiraz, all three are wonderful. read more

oh Dark Star Cellars, i have been trying to come here for years. So 5 years later I made it to Dark Star Cellars. This is a very nice small family owned winery that live up to the good talk that has been given over the years. I can not really give that great of review per my first visit as we were somewhat rushed due to being the end of the day. (not by the winery but by our wine trolley driver). The owners who poured our flights were very generous and fun to talk. The extra palette cleaners were very nice, i actually found myself eating the small chocolate bites more than drinking the wine. I think this may have been more contributed to the trips to several wineries and bottles in between (WINE MUNCHIES). i DID really enjoy the 2006 Cabernet Sav and ended up going home with a 2006 and 2004 Cabernet Sav's. Small cozy winery with good staff and decent wine. I need to come back here and spend some more time to get a feel for the place. I FINALLY made it and really only remember much based on I have been trying to come here for years. One last note the old boxer dog that sits around the tasting room is the nicest old dog and was very friendly to my gf and the rest of the group. read more

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Fun visit. Good prices and great staff. Had a chicken visiting and eggceptional service by all. Really glad we stopped there. Felt like home and warm staff. read more

https://www.darkstarcellars.com/ An amazing fine - Small Winery But Big Taste This is a must in your wine tasting journey read more

We loved the family atmosphere and the relaxed vibe. We liked so many of their wines that we joined the club. Can't wait to go back. The entertainment was great, the food(pizza, made to order) was also yummy. read more

We stopped here for a tasting on a road trip through Paso and were pretty disappointed. The vineyard itself was cute, much like being on a farm and pretty casual feeling. The wine was so bad though, very acidic and vinagery, my boyfriend and I could barely drink it. I ended up with a terrible stomach ache that night from it. We wish we would've stopped at Niner instead. read more

Loved the fact that this winery stays open till 7. Stopped by for a quick taste. Wines were just ok but still got a bottle. Very modertaly priced bottles. The wine pourer was very nice. Glad we stopped in. read more

This place has our favorite wine. We've wine tasted all over Paso Robles and we always stop here before we leave. Such a large selection of wines and outstanding RED wines. The owner Mike is friendly and pours us what we want so we can really get a taste of what we like. Bought 3 bottles from here and spent about 1 hour tasting. read more

The owner and team here are so nice! We stayed over in our RV as part of Harvest Host. Great location and the locals were having a dance party with live music which they let us participate. Wines are good and we didn't have to drive afterwards since we stayed out back. We felt like we couldn't be more blessed. Thank you Dark Star read more

We were on our way to book her to find out that they were closed so luckily we entered dark star cellars Mike and Doug were fantastic they spent quality time with us and we tasted eight tastings of our choice excellent time there love the outside area this is a great one to go to it's small not a ton of people you can spend some quality time with the winemaker great time read more

This place was off the hook !!!! We had an amazing time they had food going on which was delicious and live music . Couldn't have had a better time and the wines were fantastic! It's gonna be our go to! read more

Took a chance, stopped here, so glad we did! Had early morning eye surgery, done by 9am, had meals at AJ's (killer) in Atascadero. Looked up wineries open at 10am, found Dark star open at 10:30am. Very chill place, as we walked up, a girl walking out with a chicken under her wing..(pun intended) saying she'd be right with us. $15 for 8-tastes of our choice, unheard of in Paso Robles these days. Every wine we tasted was very good, price point once again, unheard of in Paso Robles!! We joined the club, the owner/wine maker took my wife and I out back, tasted a couple of early wines right out of the tanks-you could taste the early profiles-"Mike" didn't have to do that, we loved it!! Our girl pouring our tastes was a good person, the owner knows his business. A rooster gave us a brief serenade several times, the grounds are set up to party! Take the time to visit them, taste some solid wines, you will not be disappointed!!! read more

We had to check out some wine tastings while on our visit to Paso, and after reading a ton of reviews, we settled for Dark Star Cellars. Why? Because it was pretty late in the day and most others were already closed. I would have given this place 1 star, but the lady helping us out was really nice. The wines were just OK. The atmosphere was super awkward. The lady had a baby strapped on her which was super weird. We did a yelp check-in which got us free wine tasting but had to buy a bottle as to not feel cheap...the wine wasn't that great and it cost us about $40. Would not recommend. read more

We were looking for a winery that was open late and thankfully these guys were open. The guy helping us was really knowledgeable about all the wines and showed us some port that was still in the bottle. I think he had over a dozen wines open that we were sampling, but being the driver, I had to stop tasting at some point. One of the best Zinfandels I've ever had (I'm not usually a fan). Also there is a black cat who lives at this winery and he's adorable! read more

Very family friendly. We've been here twice now. Our most recent visit we had a young lady doing the pours for our tasting. Shes either new to the industry or just isn't a people person. She was very brief with her explanation of the tasting setup, since we've already done one in the past I knew how it would go (she didn't know we've been there before). Usually with a tasting you get enough to actually taste the wine, she gave us a splash. I was actually shocked at how little she poured into our glasses. I'm not expecting a significant pour but c'mon..she was pouring more wine for herself. If you have her for your tastings don't expect any sort of description of the wines, she either doesn't know or doesn't care. We do love their Cab Francs and always buy a few bottles. read more

Very nice owners operating the tasting room. Tasting room shares building with Brian Benson. Huge tasting list (10) for the low tasting fee ($5). Lots of blends, so one or more should meet a person's palate, regardless of experience. Lots of good everyday wines here. Good quality at reasonable prices. 3/2014 update - Taste 5 of 9 releases for a fee. Tasting fee is up to $10, but waived with a purchase. This place gets bus and limo hordes of drunk millennials who swill but don't buy. We tasted only the blends: Chain Reaction, 2011 Anderson Road, 2011 Ricordati and 2011 Left Turn. 15% discount with six bottles is a deal. That puts Chain Reaction at $18.70 which is a steal. We stole some. 5/2015 update - every time we are in Paso or just going through on a Fri-Sun, we stop at Norm's place and do a tasting and buy a few bottles of Chain Reaction. They just bottled their latest Cabernet and it is a delicious offering. Try it. 6/2016 update - Norm has sold he winery and relocated his efforts up toward the end of Anderson Road. Don't know what direction Dark Star will take under new management. Brian Benson has moved his tasting downtown and then to Tin City. read more

We had a fantastic time at Dark Star! Marie and Brooke were awesome and the wines were fantastic!! There was even food out made by the winemaker. It is a must if your are in Paso! read more

I have discovered that I am a huge Paso Robles wine lover! I came here not realizing what I was stumbling upon. I adore red wine and the red wine in this region is amazing. Just driving through years ago we stopped at 13 wineries in Paso. Dark Star was one of them. I walked away with 3 bottles and recently finished off the last one. All of the wines I purchased were read and deep and delicious. Lip smacking good! The owner (father of the son) was really cool. He talked with us for quite a bit was easy going and passionate about his wine. My favorite wine from this winery is their zins. Everything a zin should be...rich, full bodied, spicy...really really good! I will return to fill my wine cellar (closet). Highly recommend if you love zins. read more

Dark Star was the third winery we visited, and our favorite. At other wineries we took a singular bottle home, but here at Dark Star we couldn't leave without 5. I liked the low-key, friendly atmosphere, but we liked the Cabernet Franc even more. We were fortunate to be able to chat with the proprietor--turns out he took over at Dark Star somewhat recently--and get a peek into what it's like to run a winery. While this isn't the kind of winery where you can host a wedding, for being down to earth and with wines I'll drink again, it was tops in my book. read more

Well, I guess there are new owners now. Really a bad tasting experience! Felt bad for the one employee with her crying infant and her toddler to boot!! We had a dirty table. Had to go up each time to the counter for our next tasting... no descriptions of the wines on the menu, so we had to guess! The wines were bizarre! The Grenache rose was cloudy and orange.... really no good wines. We have never tasted and not bought wine, this time was the first! There were two people inside tasting, is that allowed ?! Needless to say we will not be back!! read more

This is a fun to place to taste wines - good selection of affordable wines, fun atmosphere, and egg-laying chickens. Bummed there was no ax throwing, but cornhole was good though the cornhole needs polishing so it slides better. read more

Saw this winery on the side of the road, liked the name, so stopped in. Kind of dark inside. But very friendly environment. You can talk to the vintner and his wife. I went through their wines. Wines are very peppery (a quality I like). They had Cab Franc, Petite Syrah, and Syrah that were very good. They also had some good blends. Prices are a good value for the quality of the wines. My only complaint is the $20 tasting fee that's not waived even after purchase. Being a Sonoma County guy, I don't come across that very often. Either way, check it out. read more

We had the Anderson road and it was amazing. I love the kickback vibe of this place. They have a beehive here. So cool to go and watch the bees and drink some wine. read more

We stumbled across Dark Star after a horrible visit to Jada Winery and an even worse experience at Eagle Castle Winery across the street. Dark Star has interesting and complex wines, moderately priced bottles, $5 tasting fee (refundable with purchase). I wanted to give 4 stars, but the customer service just wasn't quite there. Our wine attendant came across as a little pretentious and seemed to disagree with everything we were talking about amongst ourselves. Example... Me (TALKING TO MY PARTNER): "This wine tastes jammy with a little bit of cream finish" Wine attendant: "I couldn't disagree with you more...blah blah blah" Me (TALKING TO MY PARTNER): "This one finishes strong" Wine attendant: "Wow! I couldn't disagree with you more...blah blah blah" Now don't get me wrong. I really don't mind of people disagree with me. In fact, I love learning about flavor profiles when I go wine tasting. Just something about the way this woman came across...like nails on a chalkboard. May or may not return to this place. read more

I've heard great thing about Dark Star but unfortunately the tasting room attendant kind of ruined the experience. The lady working was not super friendly and ended up talking about herself and her kids most of the time. She seemed burned out and like she did not really enjoy her job. She even kind of joked about a customer behind their back which I thought was in very poor taste. Perhaps she was having a bad day.... The wines were pretty good though. They had a few good red wines on the list. Go over to Brian Benson though if you want the full experience of fantastic wine and great customer service. read more

This is currently my favorite winery to visit. Atmosphere: Casual fun family feeling. The family that runs it is always very friendly to us and our little ones (including our dogs). They even have a cute little kids table with crayons, puzzles, books etc. Nice ambient lighting in the tasting room, with unfinished walls and ceiling. Very organic feeling and relaxed. The Wines: I enjoy all of their wines. In fact, their Port is the ONLY port that I even remotely like, and I actually look forward to it! The Ricordati is a very special bordeaux blend that I absolutely love! It is basically a California Meritage with a different name. They have a nice long tasting list that takes a total departure when it gets to the Grenache blends, from the taste to the labels. Bottom Line: If you are on the snobbier side you probably want to stay away. However if you just enjoy wine, friendly family oriented people and clientele then definitely stop in! If you are a boxer owner then definitely take your dogs and let Susan and Norm see em :) read more

Quaint little tasting room and winery off 46 west. I visited here with my patents and wife and I feel we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We took home a bottle of the Cab Franc, easy red wine with nice, round tannins. But the highlight of the day was not the wine, but the charming tasting room personality. She was glowing; partly because she was expecting, and because she seemed she genuinely happy to pour for us. If all tasting room personalities were this pleasant, I would be broke from purchasing and tips! read more

This is my favorite winery in Paso Robles. The owner and his staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Try the Granache.

Probably not a super fair review as they were in the process (literally) of remodeling their tasting room, but all in all I'll go with "meh". My husband didn't like any of the wines - I enjoyed a couple of them. Just not overwhelmed by the wine or experience at all. read more

A good winery with a very winery tasting room. Lots of black iron, barrel, and jewel tone grape old lady stuff scattered around. Tasting gals were super nice and the fee is average at $10/person. I got a bottle of the Ricordati for $35(?) which is easy-drinking (I'm a Gelfand gal so pretty much anything is easy drinking for me...) and complex. This is one place I'll keep on my reserve list. read more

Dark Star Cellars - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

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