Castello di Amorosa Winery and Castle
The next stop on Erin's wine tour was the beautiful and amazing Castello di Amorosa. While driving towards the castle we made our attempts to make dinner reservations for that evening, but almost every place we had in mind was either closed for the season or booked until like 9PM, so we decided we would wing it when the time came and take our time until then.
We hit some traffic en route to Calistoga and I tried to use my impeccible sense of direction to avoid it...but I guess sometimes it's better to sit in a little traffic. We didn't get too, too sidetracked, and managed to see a lot of the side streets of Saint Helena on the way at least!
We made it to the castle but the next tour was quite some time away, so we opted for just the reserve tasting and our own self-guided tour.
We stepped up to the tasting bar and were greeted like old friends. Had some nice conversations with fellow Yankee haters (Red Sox fans) and the got into the tastings.
Here we were each entitied to 5 tastes and 4 reserve tastes. Our bartender took care of us and at times split up the tastes, and in the end, we each were served 11 wines, but tasted 15 in total!
1) Pinot Grigio
2) Chardonnay
3) Chardonnay Reserve
4) Pinot Bianco
5) Erin: Gewurztraminer "Dry"
Brett: Gewurztraminer "Dolce" - Though we each preferred the other's!
6) Sangiovese
Merlot
7) "Il Brigante" Cabernet-Merlot blend
Napa Valley Cabernet
8) "La Castellana" Reserve Super Tuscan Blend
9) "Il Barone" Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
10) "Il Raggio del Sole" Muscat
"Il Passito" Late Harvest Semillon
11) Late Harvest Gewurztraminer Reserve
Another thoroughly enjoyable experience! And I can't wait to come back again!
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