Amorosa Castle

When it opened in 2007, the castle interiors had 107 rooms spread across 8 levels above and below ground, covering an area of approximately 121,000 square feet (11,200 m²). Since then, the castle has been expanded to 141,000 square feet. The castle’s architecture is faithful to the 12th and 13th century time period and includes a moat, a drawbridge, defensive towers, an interior courtyard, a torture chamber, a chapel/church, a knights’ chamber, and a 72 by 30 feet (9.1 m) great hall with a 22-foot (6.7 m)-high coffered ceiling. The torture chamber features an iron maiden from the late Renaissance that was bought for $13,000 in Pienza, Italy by Sattui himself. It also has a replica rack and other torture devices. The great hall boasts frescoes painted by two Italian artists that took about a year and a half to complete and showcases a 500-year-old fireplace. The castle’s masonry, ironwork, and woodwork were fashioned by hand using old world crafting techniques. Building materials included 8,000 tons of locally quarried stone, paving stones, terra cotta roofing tiles, and 850,000 bricks imported from Europe. The castle extends into the hillside adjacent to it with a labyrinth of caves some 900 feet (270 m) in length. Beneath the castle are a 2-acre (8,100 m²) barrel cellar and tasting rooms where visitors can sample the wines sold only at the Castle or through the winery’s wine club. Due to Napa County restrictions, the castle and grounds cannot be rented for weddings or receptions but are available to rent for corporate gatherings and fund raisers. In May 2012, the county ordered the winery to cease holding a weekly Catholic Mass in the chapel located on the grounds due to lack of use permits.