My in-laws (the boys grandparents) came for a weekend visit. After picking up Fabio (Dado) and Ezperanza (Dada), we headed straight to Napa. It was a cool, clear day. A perfect Autumn day in December!!
First stop: Rubicon Estate. This is a beautiful property owned by the movie director, Francis Ford Coppola. This property was originally Inglenook. They have a museum that contains "magic lanterns", the predecessor to the movie projector.
Oranges in December….
‘A’ took this one of me…
Bird nests in the eaves…
On to the V. Sattui winery. V. Sattui used to be a winery in San Francisco during the early 20th century. they went out of business during the Prohibition. A relative in the V. Sattui line rebuilt the winery and it is successful today.
V. Sattui has a fabulous deli and picnic grounds. We had our lunch here.
David said we had to eat everything. Here he is joking with Ezperanza, "force feeding" her cheese…
Nature Boy and some berries he insisted on taking with him…
When I die, I hope to find a Dean and Deluca in heaven. Until then, I will just have to settle for Napa…
Oh JOY!! It’s a candy shaped like Legos! The boys made creations, then ate them!
Our final stop: Castello di Amarosa. This property took my breath away. I did not know what to expect and was aawesomely surprised. This is also owned by the man that owns V. sattui winery. He loves Italy and castles and took his favorite elements from castles there and had one created here. It took 30 million dollars in raw materials and 15 years to build. We took the tour and got to go four floors underground and see the caves that they store the wines in.
This is one of the entertaining halls. Apparently this property was used while filming "Bedtime Stories". They used the castle’s courtyard as a marketplace and this room for something. We need to go back and see that movie again.
This dragon is above the inner door. The guide showed us the holes above where knights would pour hot oil on their attackers. (of course, assuming this was an actual medievel castle…)
An antique grape crusher…
Every respectable castle needs a torture chamber. This was the boys favorite part of the tour…
If I'm ever in California, I'll sure have to visit this place! Looks a little bit like the place I had a post on just a few back – the Biltmore Estate in N. C.
Dean and Deluccia (spelling?) I love that catalog! and the few things I've ordered from there. I didn't know you could visit there. Definitley one of those things I'd visit too if I am ever in California!
Antoinette