Castello di Amorosa - a wine affair.

Had you asked me a year ago what my favorite drink was, I probably would have clung to my college years and given you an answer like "cranberry & vodka". Not anymore. My new-found love is wine. I used to hate it - burned my throat, too strong, made my mouth dry...now, I find myself enjoying a raw, spicy, cigar-box tasting Cabernet Sauvignon that Travis always orders and fruity aftertaste of a dry Pinot Gregio. Wine became our drink of choice every Sunday night at Steamers, and our curiosity and desire to learn more about wine started to turn into a hobby.

Buying wine at the store and giving it a whirl just wasn't feeding our interest enough, so we picked a random weekend and made the trek up to Napa Valley for a little wine tasting. We rolled down all the windows to catch the 75 degree breeze from the greenest vineyards I've ever seen. Wineries and vineyards everywhere we looked! We had died and gone to wino heaven. We continued up I-29 until we found ourselves in Calistoga, and here is where we ran right into one of the most unique places I've ever seen - Castello di Amorosa.

This is no ordinary winery. Ohhh no. Castello di Amorosa is a legitimate CASTLE. Pretty much straight out of Europe...and that's not an exaggeration. This 125,000 sq. ft. castle was built entirely from materials taken from run-down castles in Italy. The owner was extremely meticulous during the 15 years it took to build the castle, and made sure that everything was totally authentic. It's as close as you're gonna get to time travel back a few centuries. The lights, the doors, the patio...everything seems so European. AND they do horse and carriage rides around the vineyards. Romance novel worthy. Who would have thought there was this little slice of Europe tucked up in Calistoga, California??

After we wandered around the castle pretending like we were royalty, we got the chance to taste some incredible wines. The tasting was in the cellar of the castle with romantic mood lighting and tons of beautiful items (paintings, olive oil, soaps) for sale. We each got 5 tastings - so, since we always share, we tried 10 different wines! Yumm. We loved just about everything we tasted. The best part is, they don't sell these wines anywhere but in the winery itself, so when you come home with a bottle, that's the only bottle you'll have until you go back to the winery! This allows them to price their inventory reasonably. The most expensive bottle we considered getting was $88, and it was a Cab mix. Sooo delicious. The label has an image of the caste right on it, so it's totally unique. The dessert wine actually has the castle etched into the bottle - beautiful. The entire ambiance was romantic, elegant, and historic, all nestled up in the hills of wine country.

Needless to say, I'm dying to go back and try the rest of the wines. I plan on taking my parents up there when they get back from the real Italy, and would love to go with all my girlfriends! There's nothing like a Fall day, hanging out at a castle, drinking wine...an Italy away from Italy. A perfect start to what is going to be a lifelong enjoyment.

"Happiness is the wine of the rarest vintage" - Logan P. Smith. Ahh, yes indeed it is.

Winery wesbite: http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/

C.