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Napa Valley | Calistoga
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Top
of The Valley
 Castello
di Amorosa - Rising above the hills in the
Napa Valley is Castello di Amorosa, which translates to the “castle
of love” in Italian. Castello di Amorosa, an authentic-styled,
12th century Tuscan castle-winery complete with high walls and five
defensive towers and over 30 acres of estate vineyards. It was built
over a 15-year period by Dario Sattui, a fourth generation winemaker
and owner of V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, California. The Wall
Street Journal cited Castello di Amorosa as a “must-see destination,”
and more recently, the Contra Costa Times included Castello di Amorosa
as one of the top destination wineries in the country. After decades
of research, planning and studying medieval castles in Italy and
Europe, Sattui commenced building in 1994. The Castello evolved
to include 121,000 square feet, 107 rooms, (of which 95 are used
for winemaking or wine storage) 8,000 tons of hand-squared stone,
8 levels (4 above ground, 4 below) 900 linear feet of caves, a great
hall with two-story Italian frescoes, a drawbridge and a moat.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE CLUB TOURS 707-967-6272 DIRECTIONS
 Frank
Family Vineyards - Approximately 20 acres of vines
were planted on Winston Hill starting in1991. Cabernet Sauvignon
is the primary variety, along with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet
Franc, and Sangiovese. Through site specific vineyard management,
several clonal selections are matched with the appropriate rootstocks.
Extensive hand labor balances the vine canopy and maintains the
yields to produce rich and concentrated wines. The soil consists
of well-drained, volcanic deposits and sandstone. Due to its southwest
exposure, Winston Hill has a high radiant value. Typical warm summer
days give way to cool nights with soft mountain breezes. The vineyard
has an average rainfall of 24-36 inches per year.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-0859 DIRECTIONS
 Madrigal
Vineyards - The Madrigal family originally came to
California via Numarin Mexico in 1932. My grandparents boarded a
train bound, or so they thought, for California. On a cold and snowy
day the conductor told them it was time to get off and that they
were in California. They were actually in Kansas and it was the
middle of a cold and windy winter. My grandfather ended up having
to work for the railroad for a few years until they saved enough
money to continue on to California. When they arrived in California,
they originally stopped in Azusa, a suburb of Los Angeles. My grandfather,
not satisfied with his prospects in Azusa in '37, traveled north
to join a cousin in a town called Calistoga. Convinced that a better
life could be had here, he sent for his family and settled in a
cabin that's a stone's throw from what is now Madrigal Estate.
TASTINGS (707)
942-6577 DIRECTIONS
 Schramsberg
- Hugh Davies, President and Winemaker of Schramsberg, is devoted
to carrying on his parent's vision: to create America's premier
sparkling wines. His passion for constant refinement of vineyard
sources and winemaking techniques is captured in each bottle. Our
small winery spares no effort to create the complex bouquet, refreshing
acidity and depth of flavors found in the finest of sparkling wines.
Schramsberg grapes are sourced from 80 cool-climate vineyards located
in four counties. In a century-old tradition rarely practiced today,
the winemakers use barrel fermentation and barrel aging in the creation
of our sparkling wines. After bottling, the wines are hand-stacked
and hand-riddled in our historic Diamond Mountain caves. Our releases
have been heralded as some of the best sparkling wines available
in the world.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE CAVES (707)
942-4558 DIRECTIONS
 von
Strasser Winery is located in the Diamond Mountain
region of the Napa Valley nestled between the towns of St. Helena
and Calistoga. Diamond Mountain is situated in the Valley's western
Mayacamas mountain range. Althought outwardly an inhospitable place
for agriculture to take root, Diamond Mountain has long been known
for producing some of the Napa Valley's most concentrated red wine.
In fact, viticulture and wine making in the region dates back to
at least the 1860's. As a champion of this rich heritage, in 1999
Rudy von Strasser spearheaded a committee of fellow property owners
to petition the BATF to acknowledge Diamond Mountain as an official
American Viticultural Area. In May 2001, Rudy's efforts came to
fruition: "Diamond Mountain District" was declared as
a unique AVA.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE CAVESS (707)
942-0930 DIRECTIONS
 Storybook
Mountain Vineyards -
Climate - in the broad context of temperature, precipitation, prevailing
wind and storm patterns as well as exposure to the sun - is of crucial
importance for optimum fruit development and thus the quality of
a vineyard. Storybook Mountain is located at the top of the Napa
Valley, on an eastern slope of the Mayacamas Range whose ridges
separate Napa from Sonoma. This gives us the desired eastern exposure,
an orientation we share with many of the greatest vineyards in Bordeaux
and Burgundy. Adequately warm weather for ripening is rarely a problem
in the Napa Valley - and certainly not for us. Open to the morning
sun and providing an oblique angle to the hot afternoon sun for
a growing day of even temperature, an easterly exposure helps avoid
both the heat spikes and heat accumulation that can occur on a late
summer afternoon.
TASTINGS ORDER ONLINE CAVES
(707) 942-5310 DIRECTIONS
 Silver
Rose Cellars -The winery is the fruition of a life
long dream of J-Paul Dumont and family. Since buying the property
in 1985, J-Paul, his wife Sally and son Derrick, have gradually
been developing the Silver Rose to be a first class destination
resort. With luxurious accommodations, full service spa, conference
center, winery and soon a planned four star restaurant, Silver Rose
offers visitors a truly unique stay in the world famous “Napa
Valley”. The Winery opened in June of 2000. The first 4 vintages
have accumulated over 200 awards. Included is a 93 rating from the
Wine Spectator for our 2002 D’argent Chardonnay and our 2002
Jupilles Merlot received a score of 98 at the California State Fair.
We were recently recognized in the American Gold Medal wine guide…
To be included in this guide you must be in the top 10% Gold Medal
winners for 2005, based on major wine competitions throughout the
U.S.A.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-1440 DIRECTIONS
 Graeser
Winery Graeser Winery Estate on Diamond Mountain is
an oasis of old Napa Valley charm. The picturesque hillside vineyards
are planted to the classic Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Franc, Merlot
and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our wines are a true reflection of this
very special place with a relaxed, classic beauty that is timeless.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-4437 DIRECTIONS
 Cuvaison
Winery is situated on the historic Silverado Trail
in northern Napa Valley. In 1969 Thomas Cotrell and Thomas Parkhill,
both Silicon Valley engineers, founded Cuvaison with a 27-acre vineyard
at the winery’s present location. New York publisher Oakleigh
Thorne purchased the winery in 1974 and then appointed the Swiss-born
Philip Togni as Winemaker. In 1979, the Schmidheiny family of Switzerland
purchased Cuvaison as well as 400 acres of prime vineyard land in
the Carneros region in southern Napa Valley. The fall of 1998 marked
the purchase of the historic 170-acre Brandlin Ranch on Mt. Veeder.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-6266 DIRECTIONS
 Clos
Pegase - Can a winery elevate the craft of winemaking
to a fine art? Of course it can. Can a winery dedicate itself as
a temple to works of fine art? Why not? But can a winery that does
one also achieve the other? Good question. Now, if you were to put
that question to Bacchus, god of wine, mischief-maker and generally
acknowledged originator of the practice of horsing around, we know
just where he'd send you: straight to the horse's mouth. And not
just any horse. He'd send you to Pegasus, the winged horse of ancient
myth whose hooves brushed against the earth, unleashing the sacred
spring of the muses. Lucky earth. That spring gave life to grapevines,
and the wine that flowed from them inspired poetry and art in all
who drank it.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-4981 DIRECTIONS
 Vincent
Arroyo Winery produces over 6,000 cases from estate
vineyards. Every year we make Chardonnay, Cabernet, Petite Sirah,
Merlot, Sangiovese and a couple red blends – in fact, our
dog even makes a wine! We consider Petite Sirah to be our signature
wine, and develop those vineyards into several different bottlings
– a “Napa Valley” Petite Sirah which is a blend
our many Petite Sirah vineyards; 2 vineyard designated Petite Sirahs,
Greenwood Ranch and Rattlesnake Acres; a Winemaker’s Reserve
Petite Sirah which is barrel-aged for 34 months; and a Petite Sirah
Port. Most of these wines are sold on a waiting-list basis.
TASTINGS (707)
942-9231 DIRECTIONS
 Chateau
Montelena - We defined the Chateau Montelena style
in 1972 – fruit, first and foremost, balanced by an underlying
structure of natural acidity for an elegant and balanced wine that
provides both drinkability and ageability. Winemaking at Chateau
Montelena is regarded as a continuous process that begins in the
vineyard, which is why we use the term “winegrowing”.
Exceptional wine can only be made with exceptional grapes.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-5105 DIRECTIONS
 Calistoga
Cellars. - Without friendship, wine is altogether one-dimensional.
Something to wash down a meal. But to those who love wine and wine-making,
friendship is their core inspiration. From the winery to the tasting
room to the dinner party, hospitality, celebration, dialogue, graciousness,
romance and social gathering all contribute equally to the experience
that is wine. Friendship likely never before has been taken to such
lengths in the wine making business as when the original partners
from around the United States joined forces to create Calistoga
Cellars. Not the typical story of abandoning the rat race to settle
into an earth-bound lifestyle in a leafy little wine country hamlet,
Calistoga Cellars instead is owned primarily by ambitious professionals
who keep their day jobs, but contribute immeasurably to the winery's
success.
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-7422 DIRECTIONS
 Dutch
Henry Winery - Established in 1992, Dutch Henry Winery
is a small family-owned and operated winery in Napa Valley. The
Chafen family takes great pride in caring for and nurturing all
aspects of the winery and vineyards. Less and Maggie Chafen have
grown grapes in Napa Valley for nearly 20 years. Their son, Scott
Chafen oversees the daily operations of Dutch Henry Winery
TASTINGS ORDER
ONLINE (707) 942-5771 DIRECTIONS
 Diamond
Terrace - In 1998 we realized our dream of owning a
high quality vineyard by purchasing a 16-acre parcel on Diamond
Mountain near the town of Calistoga. We moved our family of six
onto the property and determined that Diamond Terrace was the perfect
name for our new home.
TASTINGS (707)
942-6926 DIRECTIONS
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