Wine Tasting at Home – Castello di Amorosa

Castello di Amorosa
This winery is an authentically-styled, 13th century, Tuscan castle and winery that you can visit with or without a guided tour. It was recommended to us from a Vancouver friend when we went to California this winter. Castello di Amorosa is located 3 miles south of Calistoga (7 miles north of St Helena) along Hwy 29 in Napa Valley. We did not do a guided tour but instead chose the General Admission (which was $25) and included a map of the winery, access to the Front Ramparts, Chapel, Great Hall, Courtyard, Stables, Main Tasting Bar and Knight’s Hall plus a tasting of 5 premium wines. We spent about an hour exploring before heading down to the cellar for the tasting.

Castillo di Amorosa 2011 Sangiovese
Even after 6 weeks in California we knew we were still only allowed to bring 4 bottles of wine back with us to Canada. It turns out that two of them (we actually brought five, shhh don’t tell) came from Castillo di Amorosa – A 2011 Sangiovese ($32 US) and a very special 2011 Il Barone Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($95 US). Last night we opened the Sangiovese with pasta take out from a new place on Denman called VeriFood (more on that later).

The 2011 Sangiovese was in a word ‘smooth’. It had a hint of spice with wild berry flavors and was easy to drink with or without the food. The Sangiovese grapes came from the Castillo’s own estate vineyards in the Diamond Mountain District, Mount Veeder and Atlas Peak. They were combined with a touch of Napa Valley Merlot.

A quick search of the BC Liquor and a few local wine sites did not yield any results for Castillo di Amorosa wines so it is unlikely that we will find another bottle of this one until we get a chance to go back to Napa. But we do recommend the wine and the castle if you are in the area.

 

We, Jeff & Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other a Biz Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, golf course marketing and give golf industry related opinions. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. When we say that we like or dislike something or have a good or bad experience this is our opinion and the truth as we see it. We are affiliates of a select few products that we use and love. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact us anytime.