Castello di Amorosa was highly recommended as one of the must see wineries in Napa Valley. It’s not everyday you see a 13th-century Tuscan castle as the backdrop for a winery. We made the long drive to come visit for the experience. They offer guided and self-guided tours of the castle and finishing off with tastings of their Italian-inspired wines.
This is the sister winery of the Sattui Family, which also operate V. Sattui Winery in Napa Valley, which is also another great winery to visit.
Outside the Castle
You can walk outside of the castle towards their rows and rows of grapes before they get harvested. It’s beautiful to see them on the vines.
Animals
There are a lot of animals around Castello di Amorosa like pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, and other animals. It’s great for visitors with families to check out the space as there is more than just the castle tour and tastings.
Into the Castle
To walk into the castle, you follow a long fight of stairs up towards the drawbridge and go through the doors.
Once you walk through, you can sign up for tours and tastings. You can’t wander about the castle without paying.
General Admission Tasting Experiences
They have guided tours, but we opted for the General Admission Tasting Experiences as they are cheaper.
- Premium Wine Tasting – $30 per person
(Premium Tasting of 5 wines) - Reserve Wine Tasting – $45 per person
(Reserve Tasting of 6 wines, including Reserve wines) - Wine Club Member – Complimentary Premium Wine Tasting for Club Member and Guest
(Limit 2 per active membership. Additional discounts apply to higher club levels when member is present.) - Child Admission – $20 per minor (ages 5-20)
(Includes grape juice. Children and Young Adults ages 0 to 20 may enter the Castello only when accompanied by an adult over the age of 21.)
This includes a map of the winery, wine tasting, and access to the upper levels of the Castello, including the Main Tasting Bar and Knight’s Hall. What you miss out from the guided tours are access to the lower levels of the Castello, including the Torture Chamber, Armory, or The Grand Barrel Room. If you don’t mind that, General Admission is the way to go.
Self-Guided Tour
We climbed up and down the towers of the castle and we were really impressed by the size and the details. No wonder it took them so long to build this space.
We followed the map and wandered throughout the castle and it was great to be at a higher vantage point so we could see the vineyard from above.
This room is The Great Hall and the details are really just stunning. You can’t walk into this area but you can take photos.
Main Tasting Room and Knight Hall
Entry get you a visit to the tasting room. Remember to keep your tickets that you got when you paid, and then present it to the staff to being the wine tasting experience.
With our tickets, we were able to choose 5 different wines to taste on the list.
The staff are very knowledgable and can guide you through a few based off what you normally like.
Of the ones we tried, La Fantasia and it’s a sparkling rose slightly deeper in colour than normal. Sweeter for those who don’t drink a lot usually, but not as sweet like a dessert wine.
The Gewürztraminer was another interesting wine too. It is different from German or Canadian ones that we’ve had before. It is sweeter and more fuller bodied. Probably due to the warmer climate compared to the other countries.
We enjoyed the tasting and learned more about Castello di Amorosa.
Once you’re done the tasting, you can walk around the vast area to buy some bottles of wine or other gifts.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was worth the self-guided tour and tasting. Kids and young adults can still partake in the experience but have grape juice instead of wine during the tasting.
Address:
4045 St Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA
Website:
https://www.castellodiamorosa.com/
