Whispering Walls

Those who have been following this blog know that this is my third blogpost about Napa. (Here's the first and here's the second.) With an abundance of wineries here, you couldn’t possibly explore them all in one visit.  You just have to keep coming back to discover new ones.  Every Napa trip is a new adventure.

This time, hubs and I were joined by another couple (Sandy and John).  We were all determined to go to Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga.

Castello di Amorosa (Italian for "Castle of Love")

While this castello was inspired by an authentic 13^th century Tuscan castle, it was built very recently. It could have fooled me.  The architectural details make it appear as though it was built in the medieval times. This replica has everything you would find in a real castle:  towers, loggias, a courtyard, and a great hall.  It even has a drawbridge and a moat.  And a torture chamber. 

The Courtyard

Loggia (corridor)

The Chapel

The Great Hall

Acting like royalty inside the Great Hall.

View from one of the towers

Dario Sattui -- of the same V Sattui Winery fame -- had a self-proclaimed obsession with castles and this was the result of his passion. (You can read more about Castello di Amorosa's history here). 

Construction of this ambitious project began in January 1995.  The castello finally opened its doors to the public in April 7, 2007.  It is a 121,000 square foot castle with 107 different rooms with four levels above ground and four underground levels which are for barrel aging cellars and wine tastings.

The Grand Barrel Room

This is where they hold some wine tasting.

Gotta love this!

At the end of the tour and wine tasting, we were led to the souvenir shop.  Of course! While browsing at the merchandise, hubby called me to an area under the cross-vaulted ceiling. He stood in one corner right in front of where two archways intersect.  

Can you see him here standing in the corner where the arches intersect? 

Then he asked me to stand on the opposite side, diagonally across and about 15 feet away from him.  He instructed me to face the wall and keep my ear close to the spine where the arches meet.  When I was ready, he faced the wall in his corner and said with normal volume, “Can you hear me clearly?"

I nodded still  a bit unsure of what this was all about.  He then explained, "No one else in the room can quite hear me other than you. The sound travels across the ceiling from my side of the wall to yours.  It’s called the Whispering Walls.”

With bug eyes and a dropped jaw, I turned around to face him, “That is so cool!”

Note:  I’m not sure that I explained this phenomenon very well but I found a link on the web that also demonstrates this:  http://www.sonicwonders.org/?p=426

Castello di Amorosa vineyard