My Everyday Photos

It just seems natural that you must visit a winery even though we come from a big wine-producing state ourselves. My aunt and uncle live in Napa and they took us to one of the grander wineries I’ve ever seen – Castello di Amorosa. It is in an authentic castle built specifically to house the winery. This building was a labor of love that took several years to complete with bricks and rock and fixtures shipped from Europe. I cannot begin to imagine how much it cost. Much of the winery is underground in a labyrinth of tunnels and arched rooms. I had to fight off my claustrophobic tendencies in order to enjoy the tour. Thank goodness we had a guide. I’m quite sure I could not have found my way out on my own. At the end of the tour, we were treated to tastings and we did take home a little bit of California wine to enjoy in the future.

Every castle needs a moat

And the moat needs ducks

The farm yard for goats

Ken likes goats

Gold-crowned Sparrow in a rosemary hedge

And a castle needs some gargoyles. Ken thinks we should consider them for our house too.

A castle needs a drawbridge and an iron gate

So many interesting touches

And terrific views

Lovely flowers

And murals!

This great hall can be rented out for parties.

The murals were very interesting.

Two brothers did the mural painting but one quit early so his brother painted over his signature.

Such tidy grounds

More great flowers

A mixture of high tech industrial wine making with traditional looking castle

Many hallways like this one

Often lined with oak barrels full of wine

A place to taste wine out of a barrel

Lots of animals on the grounds.

Chickens in the vineyard