Wow! What a Mothers Day!

The title says it all!  Max played at the Lake County Orchestra’s concert in the Junior Orchestra on his double-bass beginning at 11:00 a.m. (for the dress rehearsal) and getting finished by 3:30 that afternoon. They played the theme from Amadeus (from Symphony #25 by Mozart) and an interesting piece called, “M to the Third Power” which entails unusual meter changes.

Then, we sped off over the hill to Calistoga to the “Castle” winery, Castello di Amorosa for a tour [with our tour guide, Mark] and wine tasting, thanks to Sean!  I’ve always been fascinated by castles, so this was a real treat. This castle is listed as a 12th century Tuscan castle-winery owned by Dario Satturi.  According to their brochure:  “The 121,000 square foot Castello includes 107 unique rooms, 8,000 tons of hand-squared stones, 8 levels (4 below ground), 900 feet of caves, a completely hand-painted Great Hall   , a drawbridge, moat, dungeon and torture chamber, a consecrated chapel ,  and one of the most impressive wine barrel rooms in the U.S. constructed with ancient brick Roman cross-vaulted ceilings.

Yet, the Castle is merely a backdrop to showcase some of Napa Valley’s best wines.  The castle produces a tiny 15,000 cases which are sold only at the winery; directly to the consumer.”

They told us of the many celebrities who have partied at this castle, not to mention a few movies being filmed there as well.  They also take reservations for a spooky Halloween Party and festive New Years Eve masquerade ball they have yearly.  [Love to check out that Halloween event…]  We had fun on the tour and at the tasting---plus the gift shop at the end was a blast! As we strolled back to the car, past the vineyard, I commented on how “Christmasy” it looked to have the red poppies among the green grape vines---a perfect photo moment!  

Then we grabbed some steaks for the grill, fresh asparagus and raced home to feast.  With Steve’s lemon butter atop the veggie, it was quite tasty!  The homemade brownies I’d made the day before topped it all off.  We all slept well that night!