Glass Fire Update
We have received an outpouring of love and support from our community and members, for which we are so grateful. In the midst of this challenging time, the team at Castello di Amorosa wishes to share with you a message of hope, fortitude, and resilience. While it is true that we have been affected by the fires, losing our Farmhouse building and scorched land surrounding the castle, we are grateful that our main castle building which spans 121,000 square feet has been left unscathed. We owe this to the hard work of the police, first responders, and firefighters that have continuously dedicated their efforts to saving our beautiful property. After seeing the flames, Dario’s first instinct was to save all of the animals at the castle, including the pigs, goats, sheep, emus, peacocks and chickens.
Looking to the future, it is time for us to come together as a community and to support one another. Wine country is strong, courageous and resourceful and we will get through this challenging time together and more unified than ever before. The incident has been heart-wrenching and devastating for the Castello di Amorosa Team, but through the tumult, our team and the spirit of Dario’s Labor of Love persisted.
– Castello di Amorosa Team
A Letter from Dario Sattui
Dear Friends & Family,
I spent nearly 15 years of my life designing and building the castle, which besides my wife Irina, is the second love of my life. I never thought the stone and brick fortress would be affected by fire. Unfortunately, in the early morning hours of September 28th, Castello di Amorosa sustained significant fire damage to the Farmhouse building, a separate 15,000 square foot building across the crush pad about 50 yards from the castle itself. The Farmhouse was completely destroyed. The beautiful castle itself and underground cellars which comprise approximately another 121,000 sq. ft. were not harmed by the fire.
Flaming embers landed in the grass near Highway 29 creating a massive fire that ripped up the hill to the Farmhouse before I knew it. My first response was to let our farm animals out of their pens, and then I raced to find a fire truck which responded quickly, but it was just too large a fire to handle. Fortunately, most of our wine inventory is stored in the castle and in our off-site warehouse and is in great condition.
The Farmhouse contained about 120,000 bottles of wine with a retail value of approximately $5 million, a bottling line, a portion of the wine from the 2020 vintage and offices and a laboratory above. The castle itself was unaffected by the fire. I estimate that repairing this craftsman building and re-equipping it will cost approximately $10-12 million and take 2-3 years as most of the antique materials must come from Europe. The estimated total loss is approximately $15-20 million.
I really appreciate your heart-felt support during this difficult time. Your calls, emails and wine orders are very much appreciated. I am thankful for your support of the castle and honored that you continue to purchase and enjoy our wine which will help sustain the castle during this horrible time.
I am thankful that no one was injured and want you to know that we are strong and resilient, and we will overcome this tragedy. Our hearts go out to our friends and neighbors, some of whom have suffered great losses. We are forever grateful for the hard work and dedication of the brave fire fighters and the first responders.
We are already hard at work repairing systems and getting back on our feet. We expect to resume shipping your wine orders by the end of the week and to reopen the castle within a week for wine tasting.
I am looking forward to putting this disaster behind us and hosting you again at the castle soon.
I wish you and your family all the best.
