Pops’ Napa Valley Travel Guide, Castello Di Amorosa

To me, if you have been on one wine tour you have seen them all, except for sparkling wines. Most wines are made the same way. That doesn’t hold true for wineries. Wineries all have their distinct offerings. One of those wineries and one of my favorites to visit in Napa Valley is Castello Di Amorosa.

Castello di Amorosa is a winery located near Calistoga, California in Napa Valley near and across the highway from Sterling Vineyards. First opening its doors to the public in April 2007, it is the pet project of 4th generation vintner, Dario Sattui who also owns and operates the V. Sattui Winery named after his great-grandfather who originally established a winery in San Francisco in 1885 and is one of the oldest in the valley.

 

The castle interiors, which include 107 rooms on 8 levels above and below ground, cover approximately 121,000 square feet (11,200 m²). Among many other features it has: a moat; a drawbridge; defensive towers; an interior courtyard; a torture chamber; a chapel/church; a knights' chamber; and a 72 by 30 feet (9.1 m) great hall with a 22-foot (6.7 m)-high coffered ceiling.

The torture chamber has an authentic 300-year-old iron maiden which Sattui states he bought for $13,000 in Pienza, Italy, a replica rack, prison chambers and other torture devices. The great hall features frescoes painted by two Italian artists who took about a year and a half to complete and showcases a 500 year old fireplace. The masonry, ironwork and woodwork were fashioned by hand using old world crafting techniques. Building materials included 8,000 tons of locally quarried stone, in addition to paving stones, terra cotta roofing tiles and some 850,000 bricks imported from Europe. Extending into the hillside adjacent to the castle lies a labyrinth of caves some 900 feet (270 m) in length. Beneath the castle is a 2-acre (8,100 m2) barrel cellar and tasting rooms where visitors can sample the wines-all sold only at the Castle. There is a chapel in the castle that used to hold Catholic Mass every Sunday in Latin. I heard that due to county restrictions they had to stop. It was one of the few places where you could still go to mass in Latin in the area.

I like to bring friends that are visiting the wine country here as it is so unique. They offer many different tours and tastings options. My favorite was a VIP tour where at the end you went to an upstairs apartment where you had a private tasting with food cooked in the kitchen that paired with the wine you were drinking. Whichever tour you go on make sure you see everything including the torture chamber.

They have a wine club that equates to purchasing a case of wine in a year. I purchased the case at one time which satisfied my club membership for the year. Their wine is in the Italian style fit for the Sattui Italian heritage. With the membership you will get invited to special events like themed dinners where everyone dresses in medieval attire.

Castello Di Amorosa is a must see when visiting Napa Valley.