Proposal at Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga

While I have been to The Castello many times for proposals, this one was different- Tim and Emily were flying in that afternoon, and the only appointment available was on Friday at 4:30pm. Because this winery gets VERY busy the moment it opens, I often suggest to get there early (like 9am) to beat the crowds and have the place to themselves. But due to scheduling constraints, I was happy to do this proposal at Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga in the evening.

One worry was that the active fires up north were causing some major smoke. Since the winery was not closed, we decided to go ahead and go with our original plan and I would hang out at the end of a vineyard row to get a great view of the castle, and Tim would find me and start walking down that aisle.

When I arrived, the smoke was a LOT thicker than it had been earlier in the week. But, I will say that it worked in our favor a few ways. There were about 1/4 the amount of people outside, and because of the smoke, the sun wasn’t crazy bright. The smoke was acting like a filter, almost as if there was a cloud (a red cloud lol) passing over.

The vineyard rows were nice and thick, so it was really easy to hide, and it also gave them some seclusion. I loved her reactions after he proposed, jumping up with legs wrapped around and everything! The funny thing was, when I jokingly mentioned how much I loved that, she looked at me and laughed and said she didn’t remember doing that at all- thankfully she will have the images to prove it!

**Update as of COVID- Castello is now only allowing people with an appointment/tasting reservation through the gate and up to their property. This includes having a photographer on site. This fee is $50.**