Castello di Amorosa (13th-Century Tuscan Castle) & the Reopened Sterling Vineyards Gondola

Located 3 kilometres (3 minutes' drive) apart along Highway 29 just south of Calistoga sit the two most visually dramatic, family-friendly and photogenic wineries in North America: a genuine 13th-century-style medieval Tuscan castle with a moat and drawbridge, and a whitewashed Greek-island-style monastery reached by an aerial ski-style gondola.

1. Castello di Amorosa ('The Castle of Love', 4045 St Helena Hwy, Calistoga)

What started in 1994 as a sketch for a modest cellar by fourth-generation California winemaker Dario Sattui (great-grandson of pioneer Vittorio Sattui, who founded St. Helena's V. Sattui Winery in 1885) turned into a 14-year project to build the only authentic 13th-century medieval Tuscan castle in the Americas. Opened in 2007 and spanning 121,000 square feet across 8 levels (4 above ground and 4 underground), with 107 rooms (95 dedicated to winemaking), not a single piece of drywall or modern nails was used:

• 8,000 Tonnes of Hand-Chiselled Stone & 1 Million Antique European Bricks: Sattui imported over 200 shipping containers of antique handmade bricks from dismantled Habsburg palaces, medieval stone fireplaces, a 500-year-old iron torture chamber, an armoury, a chapel, a moat, a working drawbridge and 2 acres of underground vaulted brick caves.
• Welcoming for Non-Drinkers & Families: advance reservations are required (check the official website for seated tasting and guided castle tour options). Every visit ends in the underground caves with a flight of Italian-style wines (such as sweet sparkling La Fantasia, Sangiovese and Super Tuscan Il Barone) paired with Belgian chocolates, while children and non-drinkers enjoy estate-grown artisanal Muscat Grape Juice.

2. Sterling Vineyards & The Aerial Gondola (1111 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga)

Three minutes north of the castle, turn east onto Dunaweal Lane to Sterling Vineyards. Founded in 1964 by British expatriate Peter Newton, who lived on the Greek island of Mykonos and modelled the whitewashed stucco winery after a Cycladic island monastery perched atop a 91-metre (300-foot) volcanic knoll, Sterling reopened with a fleet of 8-passenger glass-walled Doppelmayr aerial gondola cabins. Admission includes the scenic 5-minute aerial gondola ride up into the sky, where you stroll at your own pace along elevated outdoor rooftop walkways from terrace to terrace with a glass in hand and 360-degree views up and down the entire Napa Valley.