Napa Valley's Impressive Castle Winery Near Calistoga--Castello di Amorosa

Castles are fascinating structures of antiquity that have withstood the test of time. Their battery towers and massive walls were constructed from one of earth's more durable materials, stone. The landscape they dominated, was its kingdom. Due to these attributes, they became symbols of protection, wealth, and power. On the outskirts of Calistoga in Napa Valley, you are offered an opportunity to tour a modern-day castle patterned after a medieval-style Tuscan castle, which also happens to be a winery.

Castello di Amorosa is the realization of an all-consuming passion for fourth generation winemaker Dario Sattu. Dario's interest in medieval architecture inspired the blueprints for his visionary undertaking. He spent two decades searching for a dream property in the Napa Valley, and in 1993, he finally found an ideal parcel consisting of 171 acres near Calistoga. The parcel contained acres of beautiful forest and hills, a stream and a lake, and a great Victorian home. His vision to specialize in making small lots of primarily Italian-style wines and showcase them in an authentic, medieval castle setting where they would be sold directly to the public, not in stores or restaurants, was now ready to materialize.

Dario began work on his architectural masterpiece. It took more than 8,000 tons of hand-chiseled local stone and nearly one million antique bricks imported from Europe to complete the castle. More than 200 containers of old materials and furnishings were shipped over from Europe to decorate the interior. There are 2,000-pound hand-hewn doors. All ironwork including lamps, gates, and door hardware was hand-forged by Italian artisans. The construction took 15 years. Upon completion, Castello di Amorosa had all the elements of an authentic medieval castle: a moat, drawbridge, five towers, high defensive ramparts, courtyards and loggias, a chapel, stables, an armory, and even a torture chamber. It contains 107 rooms in total with 95 devoted to winemaking, no rooms alike.

The sprawling castle grounds have a genuine Tuscan feel, beautifully landscaped with views of its expansive vineyards. To enter the castle, you ascend a long run of stone stairs, where at the top you cross through an arched entry and immediately step back in time on the noble quest of finding the perfect wine. Its majestic courtyard is surrounded by walls of hand-squared stone and ancient brick, Tuscan-style breezeways and loggias, and table settings for wine tastings. The Great Hall is the highest-appointed and most sought-after room with hand-painted Italian-style frescoes and a 500-year-old Umbrian fireplace. The impressive Grand Barrel Room is 12,000 square feet of 40 ribbed, Roman cross-vaults all constructed from ancient brick shipped from Europe. Other notable rooms include the Chapel, Royal Apartment, Terrace, Wine Library, and Torture Chamber.

Castello di Amorosa offers five tastings and tours. We chose the Seated Tasting Experience for $60 per person featuring five highly acclaimed Reserve and Current-Release wines. We were free to explore the castle on our own with roaming access to the Courtyard, Truncated tower, Chapel, Great Hall, and Knights Hall Gift shop. Although not on the list, we did get to see the torture chamber. The wines were all very good. The list of Italian style-wines includes Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Pinot Bianco, Sangiovese, La Castellana, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Access to the castle, tours, and tastings are open to visitors with reservations only.

Castello di Amorosa means Castle of Love. Ascend the stone stairs, cross through the castle's arched entrance, and step back in time where you will be surrounded by the aura of the 14th century. Experience winemaking and wine tasting at its best while royally soaking in the opulence and mystery of castle life. You will love your visit to Dario Sattu's impressive Tuscan-style winery in Napa Valley near Calistoga.

4045 Saint Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA

Domaine Carneros Reminds Me of a Mini Palace of Versailles

Domaine Carneros

Napa Valley is mile upon mile of hundreds of hillside vineyards and beautiful estates nestled between the Vaca and Mayacamas mountain ranges. At its southern end, the Carneros region is influenced by the cooler winds of San Francisco’s San Pablo Bay. The grapes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for sparkling and still wine are king. It is home to over 20 wineries. Domaine Carneros is one of them. The winery’s impressive main structure was inspired by the historic Louis XV style Chateau in Champaign, France.

18th Century Chateau de la Marquetterie was the country retreat of famous writer and father of French fantastic fiction Jacques Cazotte from 1760 to the French Revolution. He wrote the book entitledThe Devil in Love published in 1772. It was a story about a Spanish nobleman who is seduced by the Devil disguised as a beautiful woman named Biondetta. He was guillotined during the Reign of Terror for opposing the revolution and Martinist mysticism.

18th Chateau de la Maquetterie

Château de la Marquetterie would become the venue at harvest time for a glittering gathering of the French literati of the 18th Century, Voltaire and André Chénier to name but two. Two centuries later, young calvary officer Pierre-Charles Taittinger would become captivated by Château de la Marquetterie, which he discovered on joining the command of Marshal Joffre who made his headquarters here in 1914. Pierre-Charles acquired the chateau in 1934, placing a precious piece of Champagne heritage in the safe-keeping of the Taittinger family whose emblem remains to this day.

Domaine Carneros, a breathtakingly beautiful Château, was established in 1987 when Claude Taittinger selected a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, Napa Valley. It is a singular Napa Valley winery best known as a small grower-producer of méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine, with distinctive styles ranging from the classic vintage-dated Brut cuvée to its luxury Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs. In 1992 they added rich, complex Pinot Noir to their portfolio and its passion for exceptional sparkling and still wines continues to grow. 100% of their wine’s fruit comes from their six estate vineyards comprising 400 acres.

Claude Taittinger wisely chose Eileen Crane, often referred to as America's doyenne of Sparkling Wine, to oversee the development of the Taittinger style in Carneros. In 2020, after 33 years, Crane passed the torch to a new CEO, Remi Cohen, whose role carries on the Taittinger tradition of visionary female leadership. Ushering in a new era of Domaine Carneros, Cohen brings two decades of experience in all facets of the wine industry to the Château.

Domaine Carneros majestically towers over its surrounding Napa landscape. Through the welcoming gate and from the parking area, you ascend a terraced stairway flanked by sculptured bushes and colorful flower plantings. Near the top you arrive at a cemented patio with a decorative concrete wall where two large plaques present a brief history of the Chateau and its vineyard. One more flight beyond, you reach its sprawling front terrace with umbrella covered tables filled with wine lovers soaking in its ambiance and stunning views.

Step through the double door entrance into the chateau’s foyer, you are engulfed in decorative elegance. A welcoming desk overshadowed by a huge portrait painting greets you with the necessary information. Beyond the foyer, a gift shop full of tempting chocolate products, hats, trinkets, and bottles of wine leads to a large, glass enclosed salon filled with white tables. Outside the glass windows was a side terrace with a large fountain in the middle. Around back, you will find a huge fireplace and two tall wooden doors leading into its wine producing facility lined with its giant, stainless steel vats.

There is one thing you need to know before you make the trip to Domaine Carneros, and it is key if your objective is to sample their appellation of champagne and wine products. You need to make a reservation to sit at one of their tables. I was unaware of this. You can walk around and marvel at the beauty of its chateau. You can purchase its delectable wine imbued chocolates and signature bottles of wine to go in its gift shop, but without that reservation, their tables are off limits.

Daily hour long tastings are offered for a minimum of $40 per person accompanied by your choice of local artisan cheese, charcuterie, or caviar. There is also a Bubbles and Bites for a Mediterranean-like experience at $99 per person. Other tastings are The Art of Sabrage and The Ultimate Caviar Experience $125 and $175 per person.

Anyone can tell you, the Domaine Carneros Château is a stunning landmark. It produces some of the finest sparkling and still wines. From its expansive terrace, the view of its stairway gardens and sprawling vineyard to the Napa landscape beyond is picturesque. It reminds me of a mini Palace of Versailles.

1240 Duhig Road

Napa, CA

(707) 257-0101

Climbing Halfway To The Stars On A Cable Car--San Francisco Will Take You To Greater Heights

Charleston and San Francisco are very similar and at the same time mountains different. Over the years and miles apart, the two cities have competed for the top spot as "the number one destination" with the readers of Conde Nast Traveler. This year San Francisco was named 11th.

Don't call it "Frisco", sophisticated locals prefer you call it "The City." For more than a century, it was the only city in the western United States. During those years, it was an island of urban entertainment and culture, rivaling big cities like Chicago and New Orleans. Today, it is the second most-densely populated major city in the United states.

If you are planning a visit to "Twitter Town" for the first time, finding your way around can be daunting. If you do not have a smart phone with a GPS, I conclusively suggest you bring a GPS or as in my case, have a helpful son giving you the needed directions.

San Francisco drivers are merciless towards newcomers attempting to navigate the network of steep hills, lane changes and numerous exits. A long time resident and Lyft driver called it a city with no left turns. After leaving the airport, I found it to be a city of wrong turns. You will need to cross that bridge when you get there and San Francisco has two of them, The Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge.

Coit Tower

Once you get to where you want to go, San Francisco is both fascinating and intriguing at every turn of the corner. Wonders like Outer Sunset's expansive surfing beaches, Vista Point's panoramic mountain view like no other, the awesome Golden Gate Bridge walk, and the ageless and majestic Muir Woods will fascinate you. Attractions like the spooky audio tour of Alcatraz, the movie rich Sentinel Building, the city's world renowned cable car system, and the 210 foot Coit Tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood will intrigue you.

Sentinel Building

To sum it all up, San Francisco's stunning landscape and diverse cityscape will take you to greater heights, literally. And once you get there, you be "above the blue and windy sea" where "little cable cars climb halfway to the stars!" Hope you enjoy the images as much as I did seeing them.

Outer Sunset's beaches

Vista Point's breathtaking views

Views around the Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz

Muir Woods

A final note of interest. The redwood's of Muir Woods hold the secrets for a long life: 1) Family; the children all grow near the parent tree, 2) Community; each family reaches out to neighboring families, 3) Stand tall; the redwood's grow straight and are the tallest trees in the world, and 4) Thick skin; the redwood's thick bark protects it from insects, disease and fire.

Charleston And Sacramento-Similar In Many Ways But Different Histories

The most pleasant thing happened to me recently. I reconnected with an old girl friend. Pleasant, in that we have alot of shared history, and old, in that we first met when I was nineteen and she was seventeen. The last time we saw each other was 24 years ago back in Ohio. It has been enjoyable and enlightening catching up on the missed years and recalling past events. Unfortunately, all of this has thus far transpired over the phone because she lives in the Sacramento area of California. I have been to California, but not Sacramento. So, I decided to do some research on what Sacramento offers to the vacationer. I know this takes me out of the boundaries of Charleston and the Southeast, but it was worth a look-see and may be useful information to anyone interested in visiting the Sacramento area.

The first thing that caught my attention as I began to research, and I should have known this, was the fact Sacramento is the capital city of California. I pride myself on knowing the capitals of each of the states and this threw me for a loop because it somehow escaped my notice. In its early years, John Sutter played a large part in its establishment with the contruction of Sutter's Fort in 1839. Sacramento grew quickly and during the California Gold Rush was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad. In 2002, Time magazine featured an article recognizing Sacramento as the most diverse and integrated city in America.

In one of our conversations, my friend told me about an old part of Sacramento located along the Sacramento River where there are carriage rides and riverboat excursions. It is rightfully called Old Sacramento and is one of the top points of interest you would not want to miss when visiting the city. Old Sacramento consists of historical attractions and world-renowned museums set within the time of the California Gold Rush. There are also Underground Tours, Steam-Powered Excursion Train Rides, plenty of shopping, and plenty of dining with a river view. The Firehouse Restaurant is a popular Sacramento dining spot and is rated among the best in the city. The Melting Pot is considered one of the top romantic dinner restaurants and Biba's is highly rated for Italian cuisine. For a complete list check these out. Places to stay, check these accommodations.

Golfland Sunsplash is a popular family fun center located in Roseville outside of Sacramento. The main attractions at the park are the miniature golf courses and the water park. The water park contains some of the top water thrill rides called the Vortex, Revolution and StormRider. Other must-sees include the Tower Bridge, Sacramento Zoo, McKinley Park, Crocker Art Museum, Fairytale Town, Sutter's Fort, and Miller Park.

Sacramento is also centrally located near other places of interest in California such as Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, and San Francisco, each within a two hours drive. One of its biggest celebrations will occur 9/2/2011 when more than 200 tons of dirt will be dumped on the streets of Old Sacramento as the annual festival, Gold Rush Days in Old Sacramento, "turns back the clock," transforming Sacramento’s historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s with costumed re-enactors and gun fights.

Sacramento is similar to Charleston in many ways including its weather, with hot summers and no snow, but with different histories that influenced its growth and culture. I hope to be visiting soon.