A bright sunny day, a little wind blowing through your hair, a glass of wine in your hand, a plate of assorted cheeses or chocolates pairing perfectly with the wine & company of your beloved or friends; who does not like this picture?
Due to favourable climate & soil, certain geographical regions have become famous for vineyards & wineries. Napa Valley in California is prominent for wineries & vineyards. However, this was not the case some 50-60 years ago.

Wines produced in Europe were always considered superior to the rest of the world. However, Napa Valley became famous all over the world after 1976, when the wines produced in Napa Valley won the blind tasting event conducted in Paris.

So despite the fact that I hardly drink wine, following the proverb – When in Rome do as the Romans do; when I had gone to Napa Valley; I visited Castello di Amorosa (literal translation: Castle of Love). However, unlike Taj Mahal, it’s not built in the memory of a beloved; quite contrarily the castle contains a prison & a torture chamber.

In fact, Castello di Amorosa is 13^th Century inspired, medieval Tuscan-Castle replicated winery. (Tuscany is a region in central Italy. World known Chianti wine is produced in the Tuscany region). Castello’s owner Dario Sattui began the project to build this Tuscan inspired castle in 1993, to produce Italian style wines, but it opened its doors to public only in 2007. The castle contains a drawbridge with iron-chains, a hand-painted great hall, Fattoria or farm store, courtyard, chapel & as mentioned earlier even a prison, torture chamber & armoury. It boasts 107 distinctive rooms in total & has 8 levels.

There is also a Grand Barrel Room, which is constructed with hundreds of years old European brick. The tasting of the wines, directly from the barrel is conducted in this Grand Barrel room for guided tour visitors. The courtyard contains handmade lamps, handmade door panes & hand forged metal. Stairs from the courtyard lead to Castello’s main tasting room. Even the main tasting room has Roman cross-vaulted brick ceilings. Many wine options, both reds & whites, are offered for tasting. My favourite was sparkling rosé
(it’s a pink wine: a wine that could be made by blending red & white wines; normally its made from black grapes but grape skins are removed pretty early so the wine does not turn full red).

There is an interesting way in which wines are known in the world. The wines that are produced in Europe are traditionally called Old World wines, whereas wines produced anywhere else (apart from few regions of North Africa and east) are known as New World wines. Since, Castello di Amorosa produces its wine in Napa Valley, California (US); their wines are essentially new world wines but the meticulous Italian techniques used in producing wines & the feel of being transported to medieval Tuscany; makes one think that they are tasting Old World wine.

Castello has 30 acres of vineyard, containing Sangiovese, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon varieties of grapes. It makes classically constituted, flavorful Italian wines like Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Sangiovese, etc.

I was quite amazed to see hawks in their vineyards. The explanation that followed was quite ingenious. Castello uses sustainable farming wherever possible. Nesting boxes & perches are carefully created & planted in the vineyards. When predatory birds like owls & hawks spot these nesting boxes & perches, they are attracted to vineyards. The hawks hunt during the day & the owls hunt in the night, together they build natural hunting pressure on rodents & protect the vines.

A tour of castle followed by wine-tasting & leisurely stroll in beautifully manicured vineyards made up a perfect winery tour for me.

Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in promoting the winery, nor I am affiliated to it in any manner. I am only sharing my experience & the information that I learnt during my visit.