A Paso Robles winery has been shut down after it was caught operating without a license to sell alcohol over the span of three years, the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control confirmed to The Tribune.

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Ernest Hemingway Vineyards opened its doors in November 2019, according to its Instagram, but it’s never had a license to sell its wine, an ABC investigative report found.

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The alcohol control department cited winery owner Daryn Pastuf with selling liquor without a license, which is a misdemeanor, ABC spokesperson Bryce Avalos told The Tribune in an email.

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Pastuf faces up to a $1,000 fine, six months in County Jail, or both.

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It is unclear if the winery will be able to receive a license in the future in order to operate legally.

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According to the report, the state was also investigating whether Hemingway’s Steakhouse in downtown Paso Robles had proper alcohol licensing. The Tribune has requested the report, but the steakhouse does currently have active licenses to sell alcohol in a restaurant and catering capacity, according to the state’s online license database.

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The winery’s alcohol infraction is not the only regulation issue in Pastuf’s history, which includes numerous suspended business entities and a lawsuit over bounced payments.

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The Tribune was unable to reach Pastuf despite repeated attempts through social media, phones calls and emails, as well as visits and calls to Ernest Hemingway Vineyards and Hemingway’s Steakhouse.

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Vineyard owner thought liquor licenses ‘just roll over,’ report says

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The ABC visited the Ernest Hemingway Vineyards at 1340 Penman Springs Road in Paso Robles after receiving a complaint about the winery being unlicensed in January, the report obtained by The Tribune said.

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Three agents visited the vineyard on Jan. 20 in plain clothes, meaning they weren’t wearing anything visible identifying them as being from the state.

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An employee, who later identified himself as Pastuf’s brother, asked the agents if they wanted to do a wine tasting in the tasting room upon their arrival, and the agents agreed. There were about six other customers sampling wine in the tasting room at the time.

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The agents ordered wine in the tasting room, and one noticed an expired alcohol license belonging to Clautiere LLC, the winery that was located there previously before the property was sold to Pastuf, framed by the front door.

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According to the California Secretary of State’s online database, Clautiere LLC was formed in in 2000 and is an agricultural business. Its address as of March 2022 was 1020 Penman Springs Road, Paso Robles, according to the database, and Pastuf is not listed as an owner or managing member of that LLC.

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Clautiere had two winegrower licenses at the same address as Ernest Hemingway Vineyards, according to the liquor license database. One was not renewed, and the other was withdrawn.

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There is no active liquor license at the address of Ernest Hemingway Vineyards, according to the database.

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Clautiere Vineyard was sold in June 2019, according to real estate sale data. Five months later, Ernest Hemingway Vineyards had its grand opening in November 2019, according to the winery’s Instagram and a post on Pastuf’s Twitter account.

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When confronted about selling liquor without a license, Pastuf told investigators he thought the license from the previous owner “just ‘rolls over,’” and that he bought the vineyard licenses, the report said.

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Pastuf then told investigators the vineyard has not been open since the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said, which is not true according to social media posts from the business and Pastuf himself.

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In fact, the vineyard and its tasting room were only closed for a few months during the pandemic before reopening on June 12, 2020, according to the winery’s Instagram.

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The report also said Pastuf advertised tastings by appointment only.

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At the time of the report, which was filed Feb. 14, the public could still make tasting reservations on the Open Table app, the report said. As of Wednesday, there were no available tasting reservations on the app.

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Vineyard owner has had at least four suspended California businesses, records show

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Pastuf told investigators during their visit that he had been living in California for “only a couple months” and provided them with a Nevada driver’s license, the report said.

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Pastuf’s most recent company, AVA Capital Ventures NV LLC is located in Nevada and its active status was revoked for failing to file its annual report, Nevada’s Secretary of State’s business database shows, but he has also had four suspended wine businesses in Orange County, California.

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Pastuf also founded Carte Blanc Vineyards Inc. in October 2010 but failed to file updated information in June 2011. That business was later suspended for failing to meet tax requirements, according to California Secretary of State’s online database of business entities.

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He then founded Carte Blanc Inc. and Kingdom Wine and Spirits Inc. in January 2014. He failed to file updated information for Kingdom Wine and Spirits Inc. in August 2014 and Carte Blanc Inc. in July 2016.

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Kingdom Wine and Spirits Inc. was suspended in January 2016 for failing to meeting tax requirements. Carte Blanc Inc. was suspended first by the California Secretary of State in December 2017 for failing to file updated information and then received another suspension in March 2018 for failing to meet tax requirements.

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Then, Kingdom WS Inc. was founded in July 2016 but failed to file updated information in October 2017. That business was suspended for failing to meeting tax requirements in January 2019.

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Pastuf’s addresses on all the business filings are in Orange County, records show.

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Pastuf founded AVA Capital Ventures NV LLC in Nevada in February 2021 and failed to file the annual report in February 2023.

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Vineyard owner sued for multiple bounced payments

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Pastuf and a woman named Jennifer McNeal were sued on Feb. 15 for breaching their contract with a financial company, court records show.

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The two were operating under a company named Sancastle Development Group, which sold portions of the company’s future revenues to Pearl Beta Funding LLC. Buying future revenues is similar to getting a loan or a cash advance.

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The agreement shows Sancastle Development Group is a company incorporated in California, but there is no Sancastle Development Group in the state’s business entity database or in Nevada’s business entity database. The company also cannot be found in the fictitious business name databases for San Luis Obispo and Orange counties.

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The Tribune could not find any connection between Pastuf, McNeal and an entity named Sancastle Development Group despite extensive efforts.

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According to the agreement, which Pastuf and McNeal signed on Feb. 2, 2019, Pearl Beta Funding bought $23,920 of future revenue from Pastuf and McNeal. The two were supposed to pay back $299 daily to the company.

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Court documents show Sancastle Development Group received the $23,920 from Pearl Beta Funding on Feb. 28, 2019. Sancastle began paying back the daily $299 on March 4, 2019, but the first payment bounced on March 8. There was one successful payment on March 11, 2019, but payments after that all bounced, court documents show.

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A hearing in the case will be held in June, according to court documents.

This story was originally published March 1, 2023 4:31 p.m.