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27 reviews for Pacific Star Winery
27 reviews in English
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Review from Erin J.
Indianapolis, IN
1/10/2012 5 photos
My husband and I have stopped at the fabulous winery every year that we come to Mendocino County. It's an amazing experience!
The view is unbeatable. The hosts/owners, Sally & Marcus, are friendly and not stuffy or pretentious at all. Best yet the wine is fantastic. For $5 you get to taste between 6-10 wines, depending on the day and number of bottles they have open. Once you finish I highly recommend that you buy a bottle and picnic by the fault. In January, when we are always there, you can frequently see whale spouts as the pods of greys as they swim through the pacific.
All the wines are made with local grapes, partnering with the smaller, independent growers. Sally does small batches and watches her barrels closely. Most of the wines are reasonably priced and full of depth of flavor.
As far as being dog/pet friendly.... they have 2 of the nicest dogs I have ever met. So how can you say they aren't "dog friendly". They also have sheep, whose wool they donate to local weavers for free. Definitely animal lovers. This winery is truly amazing and one of a kind. -
Review from Mike M.
Montara, CA
8/20/2011
Pacific Star is great..if you want a spectacular view with above average wine with a quirky host, you'll love this spot. If you want to fixate on getting your 5 dollars back on the tasting (not an appropriate question anywhere), not the place for you. I would suggest grabbing a nice picnic, buying a bottle and bypassing the tasting. Just sit back and relax, which might be hard for the some of the reviewers here....
Also, yelp, we know you've got a hugely flawed system, but leaving second-hand tales of nonpayment and repossession is not like you. When we see those types of reviews left up, Yelp loses credibility. -
Review from Candace E.
Sacramento, CA
8/14/2011
Weird!
Definitely one of the strangest experiences we've had while wine tasting. I'm pretty sure that the one and only person on staff was high, and she referenced bongs at least one time while pouring. They aren't dog friendly at all despite having a gorgeous picnic area. They ask you to leave your dogs in the car even on warm days, citing a strange sheep incident. No, really. I'm serious.
The wine was decent, and cleverly named. We bought a bottle of the "it's my fault" - their table red.
The view was spectacular. If you only go for the view it's worth it- but it's the only reason I gave it 3 stars. Under new ownership I think it would thrive. -
Review from Jonathan F.
Oakland, CA
11/13/2011
My girlfriend and I came by towards the end of the day on our way back to Mendocino, and I am very glad that we did. We stopped because of the view, but the wines were great. We started our tasting with a very friendly worker, but soon after, the winemaker/owner Sally came down and took over for us. She was wonderful, teaching us about the history of the region, and after our tasting was done, taking us down to their beautiful views to watch the sunset. We liked several of their wines (the zin was amazing, a bit rougher Italian style, with fantastic depth), and it was a very memorable winery that we will definitely be back to!
and people really need to suck it up about the 5 dollar tasting, if you are a cheap asswipe, you are not going to get things for free, even in Mendocino County. It's not hard. Be friendly and happy, and you will get the same in response. -
Review from Jenna W.
Santa Rosa, CA
1/9/2012
My boyfriend and I happened to stop at Pacific Star Winery after a glowing recommendation from a few Mendocino locals. The weather was beautiful and we wanted a spot to look for whales and just enjoy a sunny January day by the coast. Pacific Star Winery was perfect! It's, hands down, one of the most stunning places I have ever been and our intentions of just stopping by to taste wine and head on turned into a five hour visit (seriously!) with Markus and Sally, the owners of the winery. We ended up staying all day long, joining the wine club and buying two bottles of their delicious wine. The winery is literally RIGHT ON A CLIFF over the ocean and the ambiance is absolutely unreal. After tasting wine and chatting with Markus for a few hours, we watched one of the best sunsets of our life while sitting at their picnic table over the ocean. The wine club puts on great events such as a crab feed, Greek fest and summer barbecue and we can hardly wait to return to our new favorite spot. Do yourself a favor and stop here! You won't regret it. It was definitely the highlight of our entire trip.
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Review from Rachel D.
Folsom, CA
8/13/2011
This winery has a beautiful location and a good variety of wines.
Tip 1: If you only like Red wines, don't ask to just try those. The winemaker likes you to try all of the wines and in the order she likes to present them to you, not necessarily in the order on the sheet.
Tip 2: Don't ask if the 5$ tasting fee will be waved if you buy a bottle of wine.
Tip 3: Good place for a picnic or a break for lunch. There are benches and places to relax right there with a great view! -
Review from Rebecca C.
Columbus, OH
1/17/2011
The Good:
1. The location is absolutely breathtaking.
2 Several of the wines tasted at the site and the $45 bottle of Barbera for our picnic were quite good.
The Bad:
1. The $5 tasting fee that will not be refunded no matter how much you buy. This was the only winery during the entire week of winery visits that charged the fee if wine was purchased. The employee implied we were wrong on this point. That alone was enough for me not to return; don't call me a liar when I have every receipt from the $1028 worth of wine purchased over the week to back me up. Between the 4 of us, we bought well over $300 of wine - I think they could waive the fee like everyone else had to date.
2. We were only allowed to taste 6 wines for that $5 and frankly, I don't know how one could truly assess the wines on that small of a pour. Anyway, we bought a $45 bottle of Barbera for our picnic and it was by far the best. We would have bought a few bottles of that alone if they'd bothered to allow us to taste it in the first place. I'm not sure if selling wine is what they really want to do, as I believe they are missing an opportunity to sell more by withholding wines from the tastings. If you are going to charge a $5 for a micro-pour, and then not refund upon purchase, then open up a few more bottles already!
3. The dismissive and rather uppity/snotty attitude of the tasting room employee. The man was acted as if we were ignorant hicks, essentially, and was by far the most unpleasant winery experience out of the week. He was very condescending to my sister over a comment she'd made to us (not to him!), and for that alone, we probably should have walked out of the tasting and not rewarded the winery with our purchase.
4. We've not yet opened a bottle we had shipped from this winery. Frankly, it's a matter that I don't have a positive memory and in turn, I don't feel like drinking it because all I recall is the employee's rudeness. Might be one box that will just get gifted out over the upcoming year. That box in the cellar is just kind of a negative memory at this time.
We won't be back, which is unfortunate because it's a great location and a great way to spend a couple of hours. -
Review from Margaret B.
Vancouver, WA
1/7/2011
After spending 3 days tasting wine all over Anderson Valley, we decided to drive down to the Mendocino area.
The view is amazing, that makes up for a lot, but not all. To this day, when I open a bottle of their wine, I still can't help but recall their lack of customer service. So, here is what our group of four experienced.
Problem #1 Walked in to the tasting room and were met with a man behind the counter. No greeting, nothing. Just stood behind the counter until I greeted him and said we were here to taste some wine. At that point, most wineries would have said, "It's a $5 tasting fee and these are the wines that we are sharing with you today." All the man behind the counter said was "OK". I then noticed a book with the wines on the counter and said, "Do we get to try all of these? How does this work?" He then said, "It starts with you giving me $5 and then I'll let you know what you get to try today."
Problem #2 I tried one particular wine and commented that it was "pretty mild." The guy then lifted an eyebrow and said, "Mild? Hmm, that is interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before." Made me feel really small and uneducated in the whole wine lingo thing.
Problem #3 Between 4 people, we must have bought $200 worth of wine, yet Pacific Star did not refund the $5 tasting fee with the purchase of a bottle of wine. Of all the wineries that we had tasted at in Anderson Valley, not one winery charged us for the tasting fee when we bought their wine. Poor form on their part. Just plain cheap, especially when their pours are very small as well.
Saving Grace: The view is beautiful and you can pack a lunch and drink some wine while eating at their picnic tables and enjoying the nice weather.
Overall: It's My Fault was the most drinkable wine of all that we had offered us, but still pricey. The view is magnificent but the people representing Pacific Star are snobbish. Plus, if you are going to buy a bottle or 2 of their wine, they should waive the tasting fee. It just makes good business sense, don't you think? -
Review from Madalina C.
Los Altos, CA
4/24/2011
This is our 2nd time visiting this winery. We really only make the drive for the view. The wines themselves are not that amazing...Not after spending a few days wine tasting all over Anderson Valley and experiencing so many wonderful wines at other wineries. But, if you are in the area...come for the view...this last time we even got to see a whale and a baby whale after we were done w/ the tasting...It is UNBELIEVABLE! Take your camera, a hat and a warm jacket and enjoy a beautiful walk along the grounds...
Now...if you really want to try their best wine, in my opinion, the best one is their Zinfandel. There are not many wineries in this area that make Zinfandel (most make Pinot). Sometimes they have the Zin available and other times they don't...ask and if they do...give it a try. You will definitely like it! Their best wine is not necessarily their most popular wine...Their most popular one is their least expensive... -
Review from John S.
Anaheim, CA
5/23/2011
The worst winery we have ever been to! We went out of our way to seek out this winery and we were sorely disappointed! We went inside the tasting room, and the server, who was the owner/winemaker was really rude. We asked if the wine tasting fee would be waived if we purchased a bottle of wine - a simple yes or no question. However, her response was, "I don't understand why people don't want to pay for a wine tasting! People are willing to pay $3.75 for coffee, or $4 for gas, but they don't want to pay for a wine tasting. I sell an experience, not just wine. No matter how many bottles you buy, the $5 fee sticks."
At this point, we wanted to bolt out of there, but since she had already poured our glass, we felt obligated to stay. Her unresponsive answer was very disappointing and she embarassed us in front of other patrons. We are very experienced in the art of wine tasting, and have visited dozens of wineries with many purchases. We have also paid $10 - $15 for wine tastings - but at much better, superior, true wineries.
The 'experience' this woman was 'selling' was absolutely awful. She didn't give us a menu, so we didn't know what wines we were tasting, nor were we able to read any of the descriptions. Her pour size was way below average, and although the wines were disgusting, there wasn't enough wine to spit back out.
Please also see the three reviews that were filtered (see link on the very bottom of page on the left where it says (3 filtered)). I don't understand why these reviews were filtered, because the ones with one star were accurate. Had I been able to read these reviews prior to our visit, we would have saved ourselves a lot of trouble and disappointment.
The location is not worth the drive. The pictures in the ads, 101 things to do in Mendocino, and in the other Mendo magazines are misleading. The tasting room is inside a warehouse area that is dimly lit, with no view of the ocean. To actually see the ocean, you have to go outside, which seemed discouraged by the tasting room staff.
To sum it up - it's not worth the drive for either the view or the wine - both are awful. The wines, like other reviewers have noted, are not drinkable, and not worthy of any wine lover. -
Review from Mindy W.
Kansas City, MO
8/23/2010
Last week I went to California for vacation. Visiting many wineries while there, when I got to Pacific Star I was blown away by their scenic location and my spirits were very high, until our group of 5 went inside...
First off the lady, who said she was 5 days old-and showed it, was asking us where we are from, which is Missouri. Then she proceeded with the tasting making remarks about people from the midwest not knowing anything about wine, that we are "white zinfandel drinkers" and how no one there "every has had any good whites" etc etc. We where blown away about how rude and condescending she was.
THEN we proceeded with the 5 dollar tasting, which we didn't mind of course, but the lady BARELY poured us any wine. It was like a little sip, not a taster like we were suppose to be doing. We even asked other wineries about the "usual reasonable size pour" and it was at least 3 times more than this joker did. At one point we asked her about one of the Pinot's- which all the wines were very good- and she goes "I dunno, let's read it together" umm i know you are 5 days old but arn't you suppose to know this stuff before you start working there?
At one point we asked her is we where trying all the wines on the tasting list and she said "um no honey you would be stumbling out of here" and my friend goes "no with the pours your pouring".
We even told her we were buying wine, which we bought 5 bottles, so you would of thought she would be more nice then she was.
I am not saying do not go here- the wine is great and the scenery is beautiful- just call ahead and make sure you don't get that lady! I recommend buying a bottle of wine and drinking it on their picnic tables. Oh and also they have a cat that roams around that is so nice and friendly. -
Review from Louise O.
San Francisco, CA
9/21/2010
The wines are not anything to go out of the way for, but the view is!
Tasting was only $5 but there were about 10 drops of wine per tasting. I don't think he could have poured less if he used an eyedropper. Also, they don't refund the tasting fee with purchase.
It's My Fault and Dad's red are the best buys. The other stuff is drinkable but overpriced. I did like the Coro but didn't think it was worth $37. -
Review from Greg B.
Rocklin, CA
11/14/2010
The view from this winery is amazing and worth the drive. The two working behind the counter were very nice.
They charge $5 to taste, which is fine in most cases. My problem is I spent $60 on wine, bought $15 worth of food from them and when we settled up the bill they charges us for the tastings. I think if your customer(s) purchase wine after tasting from you the tasting fee should be waived. That is typically how it is done. I find it a little cheap to charge us after we spent $75 in your business. I won't go back.
If you haven't been I would recommend the place, for the view alone. Stop in Fort Brag and buy a sandwich and enjoy their picnic area. However, they left a bad taste in my mouth by charging for my tastings so I won't go back. -
Review from deborah d.
CA
10/16/2011
My husband and I belong to the wine club, and love their choices they send us quarterly. We just attended their abalone fest, and the food was delicious. If you join their wine club(no charge) you will not have to pay for wine tasting($5). As for the subject of allowing your pets to roam around, not a great idea, quite often pets don't behave while owners are busy wine tasting. Enjoy the wine and the view, and appreciate people who work hard for their craft.
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Review from Miss P.
Garberville, CA
2/9/2011
I don't know how many times I have drove past this place OBLIVIOUS, but now never again. I found out about it on Yelp, and now I have to write an review to advertise it as well.
The staff was very personal, and that includes the dog Toby and the cat Spike. The location could not be better, great place to bring a picnic lunch. Beautiful place to take pics.
We got there at 11am when it opens, and soon there were 4 other people there with us.. 2 of which were ravioli makers.. sharing with all of us their homemade ravs. Wine, Ravs & New Friends. It was an amazing time.
Oh, and I almost forgot, the wine is nice! Tasted too many to remember all the good ones, every wine there is dry (my fav) and we took home a bottle of It's Not My Fault. -
Review from Joseph K.
Sacramento, CA
9/17/2009
I got married here, and it was a beautiful wedding, but it would have been even better had somebody warned me like I'm going to warn you. (Keep reading even if you are just going for the wine and the view.)
First of all, the wine: the only two drinkable wines made here are the Dad's Daily Red and "It's My Fault." Lucky for you, they're also the cheapest bottles. The rest are dreadfully overpriced, a fact they try to hide by focusing on unusual grapes. The Viognier isn't terrible, but it's inferior to other semi-sweet whites from elsewhere in the area (Navarro, Husch). Pacific Star throws oak at white wines, and tannins at reds, until your palate is terribly scorched.
The view is fantastic, and it is worth coming for a bottle of Dad's and an hour looking at the ocean.
***
If you are thinking of getting married here, take my advice and arrange everything yourself. The only things you'll need from Pacific Star are the wines, the bonfire, and the waste disposal. The rest you can get from Fort Bragg Rent-All, Thompson's Port-a-Potties, and whoever else you need. Anything they can tell you, you can pretty much find yourself using Yelp and Google.
They will try to convince you that you need 200 paper bag lanterns. (An LED tealight, resting on sand, inside a paper bag.) You don't -- 96 is plenty. (But 200 allows them to take better pictures for their own marketing purposes.) They will try to convince you that they should do your bar service. They shouldn't -- either have your guests serve themselves, or hire a catering team to do it. Otherwise your guests will have to put up with them, and with them doing a "wine tasting" of many, many worse-than-mediocre wines.
In general, the briefer you are in your exchanges with them, the better. The more you contract out, the better. -
Review from Christina O.
Van Nuys, CA
5/23/2011
As a long time enjoyer of Pacific Star wines, I am sort of appalled by all the negative reviews of the wine itself! I have a pretty good palate for wine, and I LOVE almost everything they offer! The best value hands down is Dad's Daily Red, and It's My Fault is great even though it's the cheapest wine. However, nothing comes close to their Petite Sirah (2001 especially), and their Barbera, Syrah, and Pinot are all also amazing. What I mean to say is, you can't go wrong with any of the wines! I haven't had much experience tasting there, so I can't speak too much on that, other than the grounds are absolutely gorgeous and the winemaker is a genius! Wonderful wine.
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Review from Helen F.
1/23/2010
After a week plus of relentless rain, the sun finally came out & we headed to Mendocino. This winery was a little further out, but the drive was beautiful (albeit windy...not for those who get carsick). The tasting room sits atop the bluffs....and a fault line. The grounds are beautiful, there are even sheep! You can grab a bottle and hang out or just kick up your feet and relax.
As for the wines - the Dad's Daily Red & It's My Fault were my favorite. Super drinkable right out of the bottle. The others were okay although I did like learning about the Coro blend & Charbono wines, I wasn't blown away.
Editing this to say that the "It's My Fault" wine...not as good when I had it home? -
Review from Miriam W.
11/26/2005
A must-visit along the Mendocino coast. They do a fabulous Pinot Noir- we took home three bottles. This is very much a working winery, so don't expect Napa fanciness. Instead, meet the winemaker, taste for free and pet her numerous dogs and cats that are sure to assemble near your feet.
Recommended wines for purchase:
2001 Pinot Noir -
Review from pam s.
Oakland, CA
8/12/2011
I met some wine grape growers recently at the Mendocino Grape Growers Showcase who sold grapes to Pacific Star and NEVER GOT PAID FOR THEIR GRAPES. They had to physically go to the winery and repossess the wines Pacific Star made from the grapes and never paid for. Aside from the poor reputation of the quality of the wine, I think this speaks for itself - I would not recommend patronizing this place.
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Review from Tiffanie P.
Fremont, CA
7/27/2010
This place is beautiful with a great picnic area, if you're lucky enough to visit when there is no fog. Wine tasting consists of a menu of at least 6 or 7 pairings, at $5 per person. Every wine we tasted was very "approachable", easy to drink for those novices and lacking full body for those who truly enjoy the art. Then again, isn't it all just a matter of opinion? Personal favorite: It's My Fault. How can you resist a blend with such a name?!? Blame it on the alcohol. :-)
If you're heading North to get to Pacific Star, be sure to stop by Fort Bragg. It's really worth the experience to see one of the oldest settlements on the West Coast. -
Review from Aaron D.
San Francisco, CA
6/4/2008
What a hidden gem. While mendocino winery touring is different than napa in that there isnt a vineyard every other block, Pacific Star is probably 45 minutes north of any other winery in the region - but wow..its worth the drive. Tasting fee of $5.
Location ***** beautiful, picturesque view of the ocean from the top of the cliff, you could spend a whole afternoon here, open a bottle or two, and just enjoy the beauty of the region, and the crisp air. I believe this is the only ocean front winery in northern cali.
Winery**** really small batches - this is a larger family - sized winery. The service was great, the husband of the winemaker poured - knowledgeable, fun, thoughtful. Tasting room is in a quazi cave structure.
Wine**** fortunately, we were there on a member event day - so they were pouring everything! I tasted about 10 reds. So, the tasting started out very dreadfully - the pinots were borderline terrible. But then the real tasting began! The blends, Its my fault, and Dad's daily red were perfect drinking wines - priced at $10 and $12 respectively. I think Dad's is totally killer, and the winemaker's father is pictured on the bottle in all his wrinkled glory.
The charbono, a rarely sold varietal was quite tasty, and the charbera (charbono, barbera blend) was even better, though pricey at $40 or so.
I bought some blends, a charbono, a barbera, and a 2001 petite syrah, which was great, and greatly priced at $28. I think I got one of the last bottles though. I thought the barbera was particularly great. Zin was fine, but I like my zins a lot spicier and bigger - you can probably do better elsewhere for zins.
Ill exit this yelp with my new favorite wine joke:
"did you know they created a wine that you can drink all night without breaking the seal?"
"Its called pinot moir"
ba-doom-ching. -
Review from A to the C.
San Francisco, CA
2/23/2007
I agree this is a must visit place in Mendocino. I wasn't in love with the wines. Though there was a blend that was a collaboration between several local wineries that I found the be the best.
The views here will leave you breathless. The winery is perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.A great place to picnic or sip some wine. Though they are no licensed to sell wine by the glass.
My recommendation, get some friends, pop a bottle and enjoy the views from the great swing or Adirondack chairs. It is pure bliss. -
Review from Betsy V.
San Francisco, CA
4/26/2009 2 photos
I loved this place. To be honest, the wines were a little dry for my liking but I'm not really a wine connoisseur. I come from the wine school of Trader Joes "less than $10" variety. But $5 gave you quite a few tastings, some interesting stories, and the opportunity to have a drink in the most beautiful scenery around. Many picnic tables overlooking the ocean, and my boyfriend and I picked two Adirondack-like seats right at the edge of the coast. We talked and sipped wine for a good hour all by ourselves (we came around 4pm and were the last ones to leave) with the waves crashing in front of us. It was an amazing and memorable experience and I thank Pacific Star winery for that. I can only imagine the sunset would be breathtaking in this spot.
Kudos to them for having a variety of prices for their wines, it's nice to know that one of their bottles has not changed it's price of $12 since 1996. -
Review from Lexica B.
Alameda, CA
3/26/2009
The worst wine tasting experience I've ever had, due to three things: the pourer's constant in-our-face talking, the 17 DROPS OF WINE they call a pour, the wine club member a few stools down (aka local wino) desperately trying to be included in our conversation (which was really only the pourer talking, but he managed to interrupt her several times). It was so bizarre. My partner and I never got a word in edgewise, to her or ourselves. I tried to avoid eye contact with wino, turned my back, ignored his comments, but he just would not shut up. The pourer told us what we were tasting, how good it was, why we should love it, so we really had nothing to do except pay $5. Some of the wines might have been okay, but there was so little to taste, and so little space for me to find my opinion between wino and in-your-face.
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Review from Lyndsey H.
San Francisco, CA
5/10/2010 3 photos
My favorite part about this winery, like all the other reviews, is the location!!!! It is just breathtaking! We were a bit confused about how to enter the tasting room/area....we were looking for steps or a doorway, but you actually taste in the barrel room which looks like a arched stone garage entrance. It was very unique and fun to taste in the designated area and look around the corner to see the winemaker at work. I wasn't in love with any of their wines. Dad's was a very light red, super drinkable...many of the reviewers seem to love that wine. My favorite was the Charbera (50/50 blend of charbono and barbera) but they were sold out, so we purchased a bottle of the viognier....it was crisp, clean and unique. We brought lunch and drank our bottle at a perfectly placed picnic table with great ocean views! I would love to come here again!
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Review from Mike M.
Sacramento, CA
10/1/2008
We were in Fort Bragg for our one year anniversary and wanted to have a nice romantic picnic while we were there. Someone told us about Pacific Star and we are so glad they did!!!
They guy that took care of us was great! Very friendly, very knowledgable and was more than helpful with all of our questions.
We tasted a bunch of wines, settled on a bottle for the picnic, had a great lunch and checked out the bluffs. We checked out the lodging while we were there. Very cozy but I think it would be a neat place to stay for a night.
We left with a few bottles of wine and a membership to their wine club! We are going back for Thanksgiving and may try to stay in the little place for a night.....will report back if we do!!
