Napa Valley with Kids:
Castello di Amorosa
Castello di Amorosa is a must-see Napa Valley winery for families with kids.
It boasts of renowned wines, sprawling vineyards, guard towers, a draw bridge, cute animals, and a torture chamber.
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Italian-inspired Wine in a
Medeival-inspired Castle
Most parents would never consider Northern California’s world-renowned wine region to be a good place for families with kids to visit. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
In addition to great outdoor activities, Napa Valley is actually home to a good handful of kid-friendly wineries.
One of the best family-friendly wineries in Napa Valley is Castello di Amorosa. This magical property offers Italian-inspired wines for the grown-ups to sample with one of the Castello’s great wine-tasting tour packages.
In addition, Castello di Amorosa is a medieval-inspired castle that kids will absolutely love explore.
The castle is filled with hidden passageways, drawbridges, towers, and animals. It’s easy to keep kids entertained here for at least couple of hours before moving on to the next Napa Valley activity.
In this post, we’ll explore the basic information any parent needs to plan a trip to the Castello along with a sneak peak at some of the fun thing kids will experience here.
At the end of post, we’ll touch on some basic tips to make your castle visit a breeze, along with some other great family-friendly destinations near the San Francisco Bay area.
What is
Castello di Amorosa?
In Italian, “Castello di Amorosa” means “Castle of Love.”
It’s a fitting name seeing that there is so much for families to fall in love with in this magical Napa Valley winery.
Castello di Amarosa is a winery located in Calistoga California, a town in Napa Valley.
While there are hundreds of wineries in this famous region of California. Castello do Amorosa is the only one that features a medieval-inspired castle, complete with all the fine, medieval details.
This castle was the product of a passion manifested by Italian-American wine-maker Dario Sattui.
Many years before the opening of the Castell, Sattiu’s, family winery closed it’s business doors due to the Prohibition.
Despite that, Sattui remained fascinated with the stories of the old wineries from his childhood.
Years and year later, with this passion still alive in his heart, Sattui set out on a mission to revive his family’s wine business, and one of the many steps he took to do that was the construction of Castello do Amorosa.
The construction of the castle took 15 years to build, was finally open to the public in 2007, and is now one of the most family-friendly wineries in Napa Valley.
Where is Castello di Amorosa?
Castello di Amorosa is a popular winery in the town of Calistoga which is in the northern part of California’s famous Napa Valley.
Located just 74 miles north of San Francisco, Calistoga is an easy-to-get-do destinations and makes for a great day trips or weekend getaways for anyone looking to escape the busy city life.
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How much does it cost for families to get into
Castello di Amorosa?
The cost of family admission to Castello di Amorosa depends on the type of tour & tasting you choose is best.
There are a couple of great tour & tasting options for families to choose from. (as of January 2023)
Seated Reserve Tasting
Adults: $60
Children: $25
This offering comes with:
- 5 wine tastings for adults in the Great Hall
- 1 non-alcoholic muscat grape juice for kids
- Castle map
- Self-guided tour access
Standing Reserve Tasting
Adults: $50
Children: $25
This offering comes with:
- 5 wine tastings for adults in the Main Tasting Room
- 1 non-alcoholic muscat grape juice for kids
- Castle map
- Self-guided tour access
Self-Guided Tour vs. Guided Tour
Castello di Amorosa offers two types of tours: self-guided and guided. Even though kids can only participate in the self-guided tours, adults still may want to try out the guided tour option on a kid-free day in Napa Valley.
Here are the differences between the two different tour options at the Castello.
Self-guided Tour
Kids are welcomed to take the self-guided tour with their admission fee.
The self-guided tour is included in the following wine-tasting packages.
- Seated Reserve Tasting
- Standing Reserve Tasting
With the self-guided tour, you are able to walk around and explore the castle on your own with the help of a detailed map of the property.
The self-guided tour includes the following areas of the castle:
- Drawbidge
- Main tasting room
- Great Hall
- The Courtyard
- Guard House
- Upper Terrace
- Truncated Tower
- Chapel
Guided Tour
Unfortunately, the tasting packages that come with the guided tours are for adult only, so kiddos won’t be able to participate in guided tours.
These tasting packages include:
- Diamond Estate Tour & Reserve Wine Tasting
- Cheese & Charcuterie Wine Pairing Tour
With the guided tour, you will be lead throughout the castle grounds with a knowledgable tour-guide.
The guided tours include the following areas of the castle:
- The Drawbridge
- Grand Barrel Room
- Vittorio’s Room
- Armory
- Torture Chamber
- Truncated Tower
- Great Hall
- Chapel
- Courtyards
- Upper Terrace
Things the Kids will Love at the Castello
For many people, the Napa Valley in California is viewed as an adult-centered travel destination that isn’t a place for families with children.
What those people don’t realize, however, is that there are actually plenty of kid-friendly wineries in Napa.
In fact, one winery in this region that’s enjoyed by many San Francisco Bay Area families is
Castello di Amorosa.
Here are some the great things you and your family can expect to find and enjoy on your magical visit to Castello di Amorosa.
Get ready to have a blast exploring this medieval castle filled with long hallways, tall towers, hidden cellars, grand halls, and gorgeous views of Napa Valley with your kids.
Drawbridge Entrance
A castle isn’t complete without a drawbridge and Castello di Amorosa is no exception to this rule.
In medieval times, a drawbridge served as a means to get over the protective moat that surrounded the castle. In addition, when drawbridges were closed, they prevented unwanted guests from entering the castle.
Today, however, Castello di Amorosa’s iconic drawbridge remains open at all times, welcoming guests of all ages.
There are a couple of entrances into the castle, but makes you enter over the drawbridge for a truly epic, family photo opportunity.
Wine tastings
Aside from being an amazing castle, Castello di Amarosa is the home of gorgeous vineyards and an award-winning winery, so of course there would be wine-tasting opportunities available.
In fact, paying for a wine-tasting is the only way to tour the castle.
With each wine-tasting offering, guest can sample 5 of the Castello’s wines. Guests can either select from the list themselves or received recommendations from one of the knowledgeable wine staff.
At the end of your tasting, guests have the opportunity to purchase a few bottles to take home.
And while it’s actually quite nice to buy a bottle for yourself as a souvenir to enjoy later, it isn’t ever expected, nor required.
Grape juice for kids
What’s truly special about Castello di Amarosa is that kids are welcome to join in on the tastings with their grown-ups.
One of the things that comes with a child’s admission ticket is a tasting of their non-alcoholic wines.
This means that kids can sip on their own fancy beverage while their grown ups sip on theirs. (Coloring sheets are sometimes offered as well.) Then, if it’s the grape juice is something they really like, parents can purchase a bottle of to take home as well.
Keep in mind, however, that younger guests only get one tasting of non-alcoholic juice.
This means that kids will finish their tasting far before their grown-ups do, so parents should be prepared with things like coloring sheets or books to keep them entertained.
Animals
If your kids are big animal-lovers, this feature of Castello di Amorosa will get them really excited.
When you think of wineries, it’s fairly rare that you imagine sheep and goats roaming around. However, this is exactly what you get at this particular winery.
All throughout the winery’s grounds you are likely to find a variety of animals walking around and grazing.
Some of the residents animals include peacocks, emus, sheep, pigs, cats, and goats. If you make sure you stop by the castle’s animal pen, you’re very likely to see the two most animals at the Castello: Giacomo and Bella.
Giacomo and Bella are two adorable, and friendly, brown-eared goats who love getting their photos taken, so snap away!
Oh! And since Castello di Amorosa is dog-friendly, on occasion, you might even come across a friendly dog.
The Great Hall
Castello di Amorosa’s Great Hall is what most might imagine when you think of the room that boisterous knights dine in during large, indulgent banquets.
The Great Room is fully adorned from floor to ceiling with colorful, hand-painting frescos, filled with tons of details that help tell an allegorical story.
The ceiling and floor of this room keep in theme as well, so be sure to admire them when you stop by the Great Hall.
This space is also filled with dining tables, provide a great space for guest coming in for the seated reserve tasting.
Vineyards
A winery tour just wouldn’t be complete without access to its vineyards.
Castello di Amorosa wines come from several different vineyards located in Northern California, and the vineyard you see the second you enter the Castello’s gates is just one of them.
The vineyard covering the rolling hills surrounding the castle takes up 30 acres of the estate and takes on a different appearance depending on the season.
However, the vineyard views around the castle are pretty spectacular all year round.
And in any season, kids just have a bast running in and through the rows and rows of grape vines.
The Chapel
The Chapel is an essential part of any medieval castle, including Castello di Amorosa.
While no religious services are actually held in this space, it is still fun to step inside it to admire all the details put into the room.
Like the Great Hall, this room features a couple of Italian-inspired frescoes, one located on each end of the room
There is one thing to keep in mind when visiting this room, however, especially for families with you children.
The larger fresco in the Castello’s chapel is a replica of another fresco located in Tuscany’s Church of San Gimignano, and this particular work of art depicts an image of sinners in hell, which younger eyes might find disturbing.
Castle towers
The towers of the Castello, by far, are a must-see when paying a visit to this winery.
Yes! You can go to the top of them!
There are several towers at the castle that kids can explore, and like every other detail of the Castello, the towers were made just like the castles in medieval times.
This means that, from up here, imaginative kids can pretend to battle invaders and shoot pretend arrows through the tower’s parapets.
For the grown-ups, the towers are where you can get the most spectacular 350 views of Napa Valley and the grounds below.
Things to Remember on Your Visit to
Castello di Amorosa
- Wear comfortable, flat soled walking shoes. You’ll be walking around a lot on ground that is sometimes uneven.
- Take your time to admire all the details.
- Visit the bathrooms. It may sound silly, but the decor in the restrooms definitely stick with the medieval theme as well!
- If possible, avoid visiting the Castello on holidays and weekends to avoid the crowds.
- Bring coloring sheets and books to keep kids entertained while you finish your wine-tasting.
- This is a dog-friendly winery.
- There are lots of stairs to climb in the castle, so keep the strollers at home.
- While this is a kid-friendly winery, children are not allowed to explore the castle without adult supervision.
- Try to reserve your tour and tasting package ahead of time to assure your admission to the Castello
- On the self-guided tour, stay flexible. Let the kids lead the way!
In Conclusion
Castello di Amorosa is a Napa Valley Winery Families Can't Miss
Castello di Amorosa is by far, one of the best family-friendly wineries in Napa Valley and it’s a place the entire family will enjoy.
For the parents, the wine-tastings are hosted by knowledgable staff who are more than happy to make wine recommendations and answer any questions you might have.
For the kids, the castle will give them ample room to explore. They’ll have an absolute blast exploring all the long stairwells, hidden rooms, and tall towers.
It is, without a doubt, a must-see for any family visiting Napa Vally with young kids.
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