A beautiful November day was perfect timing for an excursion to the legendary Napa Valley. We began the day with Napa Valley's Three Big Wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is Napa Valley's king of red grapes, accounting for 40% of total production, and 55% of crop value. The quality of Napa Valley's Cabernet Sauvignon is regarded amongst the best in the world. Some of Napa Valley's Cabernet Sauvignon wines have cult like followings. Chardonnay is not only Napa's second most popular wine but also it was a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, which drew attention to the region by winning the Judgment of Paris blind competition for white wines. It has been awhile however, Napa continues to produce some of the top Chardonnay wines. Although Merlot became popular with the movie Sideways it has been planted here since the 1970's. There are always Napa Merlot wines that top the list. Needless to say I was happy to do a wine tasting of Napa Valley's Three Big Wines at Castello di Amorosa.
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| Castello di Amorosa, Napa Valley © Spaswinefood |
Castello di Amorosa
It is not everyday that this Spaswinefood enthusiast gets to visit Castello di Amorosa. The 13th century inspired Tuscan castle is the pet project of 4th generation vintner, Dario Sattui. Sattui also owns V. Sattui Winery, which is named after his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather emigrated from Italy to California where he established a San Francisco winery in 1885. Later the winery was relocated to St. Helena, Napa Valley.
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| Castello di Amorosa Moments © Spaswinefood |
As we entered the castle I could not help but notice that they are celebrating their 10th anniversary. Castello di Amorosa castle and winery opened in April 2007.
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| Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
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| Castello di Amorosa 2007-2017 © Spaswinefood |
After you cross the drawbridge your castle experience begins.
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| Entrance to Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
Let us take a peek at Castello di Amorosa. This was my first time visiting the stunning Castello di Amorosa. The castle architecturally faithful to 13th century time period includes features like a moat, a drawbridge, towers, interior courtyard, a torture chamber, a chapel/church, a knights' chamber; and an impressive great hall. Amongst the great hall’s stunning features are a 22 feet ceiling, and frescoes painted by two Italian artists.
I could easily spend a day here however, we had come for a wine tasting session on Napa Valley's Big Three hosted by Napa Valley Vitners and Visit Napa Valley.
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| Castello di Amorosa Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
Napa Valley's Big Three: Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
After a brief tour of Castello di Amorosa we returned to the Great Hall.
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| Great Hall, Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
We did a tasting and discussion of the wines in the Great Hall.
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| Wine Bloggers, Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
Our tasting included Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from J. Moss, Handwritten Wines, and Castello di Amorosa.
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| J. Moss, Handwritten Wines, and Castello di Amorosa Hosts © Spaswinefood |
I did not only appreciate the Great Hall setting but this was also an impressive lineup of wines.
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| Castello di Amorosa, Napa Valley © Spaswinefood |
Chardonnay Moments
We started our wine tasting with Chardonnay.
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| Wine Tasting, Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
The three Chardonnay wines selected was a perfect intro to Napa Valley wines.
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| Napa Valley Chardonnay © Spaswinefood |
The Chardonnay wines included:
J. Moss 2015 Chardonnay, Los Carneros (left)
Handwritten Wines 2016 Chardonnay, Los Carneros (middle)
Castello di Amorosa 2016 Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley (right)
Napa Valley Chardonnay (J. Moss, Handwritten Wines, and Castello di Amorosa)
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Napa Valley Chardonnay Wines © Spaswinefood
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J. Moss 2015 Chardonnay, Los Carneros
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| J. Moss 2015 Chardonnay, Los Carneros © Spaswinefood |
Handwritten Wines 2016 Chardonnay, Los Carneros
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| Handwritten Wines 2016 Chardonnay, Los Carneros © Spaswinefood |
Castello di Amorosa 2016 Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley
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| Castello di Amorosa 2016 Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley © Spaswinefood |
These were some very delicious Chardonnay wines.
Merlot Moments
The Merlot wines we tasted included:
J. Moss 2013 Merlot, Napa Valley (left)
Castello di Amorosa 2014 Merlot, Napa Valley (right)
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| Napa Valley © Spaswinefood |
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| Napa Valley Merlot Moments © Spaswinefood |
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| Napa Valley J. Moss and Castello di Amorosa Merlot © Spaswinefood |
These are Merlot moments to remember.
Cabernet Sauvignon Moments
Next there were four Cabernet Sauvignon wines:
J. Moss 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville
Handwritten Wines 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Los Carneros
Handwritten Wines 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
Castello di Amorosa 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
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| Napa Valley Excusion © Spaswinefood |
The Cabernet Sauvignon lineup was impressive.
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| Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Wines © Spaswinefood |
Tasting the
Big Three in the great hall was something that I will not soon forget. These are indeed #winelover memories to savor.
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Castello di Amorosa Great Hall © Spaswinefood
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If you would like an overview of Napa Valley's Big three read Wine Country Getaway article. See also Visit Napa Valley article on Napa Valley grape varieties. Our time passed too quickly at Castello di Amorosa and soon we were onto our next stop.
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| Castello di Amorosa in Novemeber © Spaswinefood |
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| Las Alcobas Napa Valley © Spaswinefood |
I was delighted to attend this Wine Bloggers #WBC17 post-conference excursion hosted by Napa Valley Vitners and Visit Napa Valley. I was indeed happy to discovered that Napa Valley is open for business after the fires. I invite you to join me in my California wine country explorations in search of the best in Spaswinefood.
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| Leaving Castello di Amorosa © Spaswinefood |
Note: I would like to note that part of the expenses to complete this #wbc17 post conference excursion was covered Napa Valley Vintners, Visit Napa Valley and others. Special thanks to Patsy McGaughy, Napa Valley Vintners and Jennifer Singer, Visit Napa Valley for organizing this trip.
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