The spring weather brings an increasing number of wine country tours to Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley as we head into the peak visitors season for California’s best known and most visited appellations. Often an overlooked group of wine lovers to be found on a wine country tour is the twenty-something crowd. As their palettes may not be as refined or their knowledge or interest in wine not as advanced as their elders yet they might be drawn to a little extra adventure to go with their wine tour experience. Here are three wineries which offer a little something extra in the experience beyond just the usual great wine in a nice location that is available at every other winery.
Calistoga’s Sterling Vineyards offers something unique in the valley, a gondola from the parking lot up to the winery on a three hundred foot hill. The ride only takes three minutes but it adds loads of romance to the experience of heading to a winery as you get some of the best views in the area, looking down over rolling vineyards.
Saint Helena offers the Castello Di Amorosa winery, which is a remake of a medieval castle with a moat, dungeon, turrets, and towers. The eight story, 120,000 square foot castle consisting of 107 rooms, required $30 million dollars and fourteen years to build. It is not merely a curiosity, but a working winery, owned by the Sattui family of the well known and neighboring V. Sattui Winery.
In Geyersville, the Rosso & Bianco Winery is owned by director Francis Ford Coppola. While his other winery, Coppola Estates down the road is more traditional, he bought this winery in 2006 and displays his movie memorabilia throughout the tasting room. So if you’re a fan of “American Graffiti”, “Apocalypse Now”, “The Godfather” series, or want to ogle his Golden Globes and Oscars, this is the wine tour stop for you.
