When we started planning this trip to visit our good [balloonist] friend, Chad Cassell in Napa, I diligently started my research. I knew next to nothing about Napa and had no idea just how many vineyards there were to visit. Soooo many wineries.. and only a few days!! Since I wasn’t familiar with any of the winemakers or vineyard names, I started to form an itinerary as if I was taking any other trip. [no pressure, but this was NAPA!!!]
I began with a list of vineyards that had unique attributes, a castle, a gondola, a garden, and so on. I wanted to make the most of my short time, so I then looked into their location, [as well as their location to each other and possible additional stops] also, the days/hours of operation for wine tastings/tours. I got things started off with the obligatory photo by the Napa sign with the loml, [love of my life... my new fave acronym that I learned from my girl, Sierra V!!] Big thanks to Chad for the photo!!
I prioritized the best I could with the minimal knowledge I possessed, picking and choosing between all the breathtaking vineyards. Prioritizing the ones I wanted to see the most along with what we could fit in on that day and so on. I definitely wanted to visit a castle, take the wine train tour, and stomp grapes, so I filled in these days first then added other vineyards that were in the same vicinity. I’m 99.4 percent sure we stopped by several other wineries that I do not have time to mention.
We also found time to do some other [non winery... cause it's not all about me LOL] exploration. Including, much to my delight, a hot air balloon flight over several of the vineyards and wineries that may or may not be on my list!! All in all, I believe my first visit to Napa was a spectacular and beautiful success!! [even if it was short and sweet] I do not know when, but I WILL get to Napa again one day. In the meantime, I will enjoy my photos and the memories to go with them... I really hope you do too!!
First stop… Castello di Amorosa, [pictured above] an authentically styled 14th century Tuscan style castle… its name actually means "Castle of Love!!" I was most excited about this vineyard; I mean what little girl out there hasn’t had dreams of love and/or castles!? [so please, you will have to excuse the extra photos I'm squeezing in but... hello, it's a Castle... and hello, it's a vineyard in Napa!!!]
Built by fourth generation winemaker, Dario Sattui, who grew up playing in his family winery and the underground cellars. Dario’s long and rich family history, involving wine and winemaking during the prohibition always fascinated him. This grew into an intense desire to revive the family business that was closed in 1920, and he went on to create this absolutely gorgeous 121,000 square foot castle.
In 1993 Dario purchased 171 acres near Calistoga, CA. This is where he began to realize his all-consuming passion to honor his Italian heritage by constructing this 107-room castle. The grounds also appealingly show off a moat, drawbridge, five towers, high defensive ramparts, [this is the defensive wall of a castle, it has a broad top with a walkway and a parapet- which is a low protective wall along the roofs edge.] courtyards and loggias, [or an open-sided extension to a house] the chapel, stables, an armory, and even a torture chamber!!
Dario was “determined to make the Castello authentic in every respect, he used only old, hand-made materials and he built it employing the same methods and materials that would have been used 700-800 years ago. You can’t fake something like this. You either do it right or people will know it’s not authentic." Construction began in 1994 and took 15 years for the castle’s opening in April of 2007. By the looks of the first photo, I guess we were there for their 10-year anniversary!! I could go on and on about this castle and do it no justice, you simply must visit!!
I have to be honest and say that I do not remember much about the wine. However, what I do remember is how totally freaking awesome it was to walk around a medieval castle where you were free to roam around the two main levels... this included the courtyard, truncated tower, [which means shortened, pictured above with the sunflowers] the great hall, chapel, and the knight’s hall gift shop. There were several doors, hallways, and stairs that were "off limits" but that only made me want to see what was there even more!! Haha!!
Making a stop down into the basement that housed the world-famous vaulted [a vaulted ceiling is made of thick stone walls and allows light to enter the room through a small space, very common in castles!!] wine cellars was a given. I remember being very well taken care of here. The staff was attentive, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable, not only about their wines, but also about the castles history. They even took a photo of Chad, myself, and Shawn [the loml.. hehe] to commemorate our remarkable visit!!
The Castle of Love is not only known for its magnificent wine cellars, but several movies have been filmed here. I’ll just mention the most notable [to me anyway] Bedtime Stories. This is a cute little story where Adam Sandler plays a handyman, and he spins outlandish fairytales for his niece and nephew at bedtime. They soon learned that it wasn't long after the telling that these stories came to life!! You should check it out!!
Disney filmed a show called The Quest [has anyone heard of this??] on site during COVID-19 pandemic. The Quest is about eight teenagers who complete challenges, mazes, and puzzles all throughout the castle in order to save the kingdom. I can’t think of a better place to film a story like this, I bet the kids had a total blast!! This makes me want to rewatch Bedtime Stories and maybe even check out The Quest just to see what kind of memories they may invoke!!
Today the Castle is known as an architectural masterpiece, and I have to agree!! The above photo is one of my favorites... there is just something about the moat that gets to me!! I also totally loved the drawbridge [cause y'all know how much I love a bridge] but I couldn't find any photos of it, even though I'm sure I had to have taken at least one. You won't want to miss out on next week's Napa installment as we head to Sterling Vineyards and ride a gondola up to the tasting terraces!!
Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!
Comments