This is a continuation of our "off the beaten path" Winery tour. We passed by this one a few years ago, and it intrigued me. Dark Star was a Dan O'Bannon written movie that had weird mob funding allegations, and I was wondering if this was affilliated. It wasn't. But the wine was good. We met with Randy as we walked in. Randy is a gem - as we tried the various wines of Dark Star, he kept us entertained with anecdotes and stories which really rounded out the experience, while discussing the high points of each wine we tasted. Friendly doesn't describe Randy adequately - he's very engaging. The bar where we sat had water available at the door, as well as soft drinks and what not. There was a large merchandise area in the corner, and I grabbed a couple of shirts before I left, along with 4 bottles of wine - a tawny port, a regular port, and two bottles of their Crunchy Cat, which was quite good with a nice nose and a smooth finish. Plan to spend around an hour for a full tasting experience. Seating is available indoors and outdoors, and the bathroom was clean - it's out the side door, walk towards the winery, on the right. Each wine bottle is adorned in Latin (someone hoping to bring life to a dead language) with "Angeli d'Altri Tempi" which translates to Angels of Other Times. read more

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Wife found a Groupon special for this place so we decided to stop by and we were glad we did. Adrienne really took care of us and the wines we selected were really good. The Anderson road was very good, probably the favorite from the wines I tasted. But the Cab Franc was pretty darn good too. My wife tasted the port and it was a great wine to finish with. The place is really nice and again, thanks to Adrienne for the great service. read more

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

First discovered this spot in 2019. Absolutely LOVE this place. Staff have always been friendly, knowledgeable & passionate. Wine is incredible. We make sure to stop by anytime we're in the area, often times planning our route to cross paths with this place. It's that good. Take two or three bottles home & thank me later! read more

Randy was good at pouring wine (generous pours) & conversation. Left with a 6-pack & became members even though we live 3 hours away.

My boyfriend and I stopped by Dark Star on our roadtrip down south. Randy was behind the bar and he was amazingly friendly, chatty and provided us AMAZING service. He knew how to pair wines together so we could do side by side pairings and offered us details on the history and grapes used to make each wine. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS WINERY! You will not be disappointed. read more

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We showed up on Halloween just as they were closing. But, Randy welcomed us in anyways and was an amazing host. He took his time with us and was just very cool. We were very appreciative! read more

We happily stumbled upon Dark Star! Randy was very friendly, entertaining & knowledgeable about all their wonderful wines! We bought a few wines for later & he gave us the most amazing recommendation for dinner @ Stokehouse Grill! Dark Star is a must on our next visit! read more

We stopped in to Dark Star Cellars to see Natalie Gelman perform. She was amazing as usual! This is a smaller winery with a very casual, laidback vibe right off route 46 West. Very friendly staff and they really want you to taste their wines. 8 different tastings for $20, so you get a lot! Their Ricordati blend was my favorite but several others were also excellent. Highly recommended for a true taste of Paso with a friendly down home feel. read more

Dark Star Cellars - Ricordati, my favorite blend. Balanced, full bodied yet elegant. - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

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Dog friendly wine tasting for the win! Visited in August with a doggy and had a great time. Lovely and large patio seating area so you can stretch out as needed. You can bring your own food. We stopped by Paso Market Walk on our way over. Friendly service and interesting and helpful tasting notes. Absolutely loved the Tempranillo we tried. Would love to go back. read more

8 tastings for $20, the fee is waived if you purchase a bottle. The charcuterie plate is pretty basic but it was good because we hadn't eaten yet. On Saturday around 1 the band begins to play. There's also axe throwing and corn hole, and plenty of outside seating. Zen dog started serving hot dogs around 2:30. read more

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Thank you Adrian, for being the most wonderful hostess, this place is your vibe, thank you so much for the wonderful time we spent there. The vintages were amazing. We were so happy that we joined the wine club, We look forward to coming back to visit you again thank you so much for your hospitality ! read more

The ports were good but the other wines were just okay. The winery grounds were nice. The old guy working there insulted my husband and I. We will not be going back. We didn't purchase the food however other people seemed to enjoy it and it looked delicious. Get rid of the old guy with the weird sense of humor. He's not good for business. I gave two stars for the atmosphere. read more

Husband and I have wine tasted all over Paso Robles and we always stop here before we leave. We looooove Dark Star!!! They legit have the best reds in Paso Robles....OBSESSED!!! read more

Dark Star Cellars - Soo good we brought home these babies! - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

Bartender named "Randy" charged my parents for two tastings when they only asked him to share one. He was incredibly sarcastic and inconsiderate despite us buying 4 bottles of wine. Kept murmuring "jesus" under his breath. I feel the customer service in this place could use some work and I would caution anyone coming here to confirm what tasting they do to avoid confusion. Location and scenery were great. Hope this place has some improvement with attitude and customer service. read more

Great wine in a great, comfortable location served by knowledgeable staff. Mike, the winemaker, is a witty, brilliant and kind human. I didn't catch the name the young woman who also served us -- she was a delight and her two daughters were entertaining us (both are also regularly featured in the Dark Star newsletter as well). She answered all of our screwball questions about wine, Paso Robles, history of the winery, etc. The tasting is generous - just $20 for 8 pours that you pick, waived with a 1-bottle purchase which is a no brainer. We really enjoyed our visit. read more

Very fun wine tasting experience. Dark Star came highly recommended by friends. Turned out to be one of our favs!

The wine is decent, the service is fantastic!! If there is any doubt to go to dark star cellar or midnight cellar, I would stand by dark star 1000%!!! read more

I did approximately 16 Harvest Host wineries in California on my trip, and this one is by far my favorite. Let me tell you why. I met Adrienne first, she started my tasting and was so incredibly warm and friendly. Chatting with her was like chatting with an old friend. 8 pours for $20, waived if you buy bottles - you can't beat that anywhere!! They have a great variety of reds and whites. If I lived in the area I would be in the wine club!! Then Mike, the owner took over. What a treat. Mike is a really intelligent and interesting guy, with so much knowledge about wine, a passion for rescue dogs, and a great sense of humor. My favorite part about this winery is that he is sells port in a regular sized bottle! I have a crazy sweet tooth and was thrilled to see that. Thanks so much, Mike and Adrienne! I cant wait to visit again one day! read more

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

I'm a fan of this low key winery. They make all types of wines. The rose and port are my favorites. The port also comes in a larger format which is wonderful. Mike gave us all an impromptu tour which was very cool. Guests got to try two different wines from the barrel to compare them. Adrian is always friendly and personable. I enjoy talking to her. Sit inside so you can enjoy chatting with locals and visitors from Southern and Northern Cali. There's also another small winery right next to it. You can enjoy two great spots and not have to drive. Pack some food though so you can enjoy more wine. read more

Dark Star Cellars was 2nd on our "Wine Hop" staying at a different winery every night through Harvest Hosts in our 5th wheel trailer. This place was amazing and Adrien was so friendly and knowledgable about all the wines they make. The site was beautiful (right next to rows of vines). We bought 2 bottles of wine and cant wait to have a nice steak to pair them with. We definitely will be coming back here! read more

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Stopped by for the first time today, and so glad we did. We really appreciate Paso wineries like this that are more "old school." By that I mean down to earth, reasonable tasting fees and really just want you to have a good time, enjoy your time there and buy some wine to take home. They make it affordable. Some of the new big, amazing wineries lack so much character and if feels like we are overpaying for the wine just to have a super fancy building. Not here, yeah! It was really slow when we there, so we were lucky to have extra attention from Troy. He did a great job helping us choose what we wanted to try based on our taste. He was knowledgeable and has a great personality. They are dog friendly, and just really relaxing and nice. We ended up taking 6 bottles home, and it will definitely be on our list for future visits. Go, it was well worth it! read more

Reached there on a hot Friday late evening, the place was quite and chill. Nothing fancy, but they have live music set up... overall enjoyed the location read more

The wines are amazing, as was the service! My husband and I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, the visiting chickens and kitty. We also were able to meet the precious kids, one of which, Rosie, we're pretty sure is the "real" owner in charge. Such a great experience! read more

Belated review but here goes: Visited Easter Sunday when most other wineries were closed. Mike the owner and my husband were in Boy Scouts together 40+ yrs ago! Needless to say we had lots to talk about, joined the wine club, had a private tour, took back to SoCal 2 cases of exemplary wine. Obviously we will be back Highly recommend read more

Looking for a winery in the Morro Bay Area? We've been coming here for several years. Unpretentious great music chickens in the yard not snooty. read more

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We are so glad we stumbled upon this place. Excellent wines, service and prices. Relaxing low-key atmosphere. I finally found a Port that I like - not too sweet, nice balance. We joined the wine club after our first tasting and have been back a few times so far. read more

We are Harvest Host members and travel in an RV and Dark Star Cellars is part of Harvest Host. So as going through Paso we stopped at Dark Star Cellars for the night. Wines are delicious and we did buy a couple of bottles to take with us. Randy was a great host! We met some great people at the winery and had great conversations. We had a great time at the winery!!! Thank you, Randy! Highly recommend this winery! We are happy that they are part of the Harvest Host family! read more

Mike was awesome. Welcoming and friendly environment. Everything about the place makes me want to go back again on our next trip. It was one of our favorite places. My husband and I loved it there. read more

axe throwing, live music, chickens and they have Karaoke too. A fun outdoor place to hangout and also family owned. You get to choose 8 wines to taste. My friends are obsessed with their wine. It's worth a stop. Don't miss this winery when you're doing wineries of 46 west. read more

Was driving past and decided to give it a taste. We were the only ones there. The girl was nice but didn't tell us too much about the wine. She also told us to get a seat but never brought us any tastings, we had to go to the bar area for them. For it just being us you think she would interact a little more Had a nice outdoor set up for when people are there, like games and music for dancing. Unfiltered wines, not our thing. But found a few we liked and bought a bottle. read more

I stopped by Dark Star to grab a bottle of wine on Valentine's Day. There were just a few people on the premises since it was still early in the afternoon, but it seemed safe. The woman working was very helpful in helping us choose a bottle and it was one of my favorite wines from the whole trip. read more

Dark Star Cellars - a person holding a bag of wine - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

Our wedding site was Dark Star Cellars. Mike was super detailed and had a perfect vision for the design of the layout to accommodate folks. The evenings in November get pretty chilly, but there were plenty of heat lamps to keep folks warm. The wines were delicious. The setup was very romantic and intimate - exactly what we wanted for our big day. Highly recommend for a wedding or hosting a special event. read more

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I enjoyed my visit. My host was awesome, was here for a appreciation volunteer party and got to taste some real good wines!! Big fan of the 2016. Pinot noir! Just tried a Roussanne. Liked it. Then a super moon rose. So far the Pinot!! read more

Dark Star Cellars - Syrah. It is the PasoRobles wine festival volunteer appreciation party! - Wineries Near Me - Paso Robles, California

Dark Star is a must for any wine tour of Paso Robles. They can easily compete with anything you will find in Sonoma. The winery and tasting room is beautiful, there is a shop for things to buy, and a long and beautiful bar for your tasting. The owners are often there. The people serving you know everything about their wine, I mean everything. The wine is just the best. Any red will send you to heaven. They have a great wine club, that I suggest you check out because their wines are not that easy to fine in a store. It is just one of the best of the best of the Paso Robles wineries. Have the best time and drive slowly. read more

Nice service, but the experience is egregiously mid. Other than the decent wine, biggest plus was that there were chickens and a nice cat running around. read more

We looked for a kid-friendly winery on a holiday weekend. Dark Star Cellars was a fantastic choice! We had a great time on Presidents' Day weekend. We plan to visit again :) read more

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

Stopped here on the way back from SoCal and joined the wine club even though I am 4 1/2 hours away because the reds were so tasty. I usually drink Chardonnays but the Merlot and the zinfandel outshined their whites. All unfiltered. I was planning on buying three bottles anyway and the six bottle, twice a year commitment, 30% discount made it worth it to join. And I live in the Shenandoah Wine Valley where there are 40 vineyards around me. Mike was nice, laid back, & informative. read more

Great service and wine! Used harvest host and we were welcomed warmly! The views are awesome from the top of the hill!

We enjoyed visiting Dark Star Cellars. The armosphere is very laid back and relaxing. We were there for 3 hours and enjoyed 8 tastings for $20! The service is slow because only one person was working but overall a very nice place to visit. Dog and kid friendly read more

I came to Dark Star yesterday. Oh my goodness! Their winery is lovely! The owners is friendly and very welcoming. The staff is welcoming and knowledgeable. They had a great band, Sound Effect playing that rocked the house. They had a wonderful spread of food and great wine. I especially enjoyed their Tempranillo. All around this is a GREAT winery to visit. Whether you're enjoying your wine while taking in the amazing views outside or cool vibe sitting inside, you're sure to have a great time! Thank you to Mike and your team at Dark Star for a lovely weekend of wine, friends and great music! read more