On Thursday we needed to drive from Windsor back to Portland, but our chauffeur/researcher/ever patient Popsy had found a place in the Napa Valley that we should see, the Castle Winery. And it was indeed a castle. We all took pictures galore but I will attempt to be selective:
This amazing castle was started in 1993 and built over a 15 year period. The owner, Dario Sattui, is the grandson of a famous California vintner, Vittorio Sattui. Dario traveled in Europe for 10 years or more visiting every castle and drawing plans and sketches for his dream. He brought European architects over to design it and had Italian muralists do the wall paintings. When I asked where all the funding for this came from I learned that he had opened another vineyard nearby which was successful and supporting this new venture. The authentic touches are so wonderful: hammered metalwork, chandeliers, a real torture chamber (unused!), doorways that have been sealed over in their initial design v
as sort of an “instant history”. The stonework is gorgeous, and the murals are so amazing.
It was probably 2 PM by the time we left the Castello di Amorosa and we headed right for I-5 North. It wasn’t long before this was the view in the backseat:
They woke up when we played their tunes on the MP3 player, and they had fits of laughter as we jived along to Lady Gaga and their beat. And so to home.
3 comments:
That's quite the castle! The view is spectacular!
Beautiful!
Amazing! Great pics, Holly.
Post a Comment