Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Race Report: Wine Tasting

The real reason I went to California...the wine.  Aside from seeing my Mom, of course.  The day after Vineman 70.3 we made the trip back over St. Helena (curviest road in California I think) and visited Sterling Vineyards, had lunch in Calistoga, and then toured/tasted at Castello di Amarosa ("The Castle").

Sterling
My parents are members of the wine club at Sterling, so we were able to get free tickets for the tram, sit in the reserved tasting room, and had access to some of the reserve wines.  The tour here isn't super fabulous, but the views are amazing and you can learn quite a bit about the wine making process.  Just be sure not to walk and drink at the same time.  Right, Jenn?  :-)

Riding the tram up to the winery:
The views from their outdoor area:

And enjoying ourselves in the tasting room:

Castello
I've been here before, and remember being very much impressed by the architecture and attention to detail in building the castle.  And being very much not impressed by their wines.  They have improved over the last few years.  Enough that I paid full price for a handful of bottles.

Some of what you'll be treated to if you take a tour:


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