So, how can you possibly compete with a winery fashioned inside of a medieval Castle!? Well, in my opinion you can’t [hahaha] but… you can offer your guests an aerial gondola tram ride with breath-taking views of Napa Valley, while you ascend to a hilltop tasting room strategically placed up on a roughly 300-foot high knoll!! To this day, Sterling Vineyards possesses the only winery gondola in the world!! Since its completion back in the early 1970's, it has transported nearly 300,000 guests annually.
The winery is owned by Treasury Wine Estates, and Peter Newton is the face behind the estate. He founded Sterling Vineyards in 1964, when he purchased around 50 acres of prime real estate that bordered the city of Calistoga. The locale of the property made it the perfect spot for Sterling’s amazing hilltop winery and patio terraces! Add to that the Mediterranean style complex, designed by Martin Waterfield [an official with Treasury Wine Estates] to emulated a place where Peter once lived on the Ionian Islands, and you get that Greek Island feel.
I am always so excited to be able to go on rides, whether it be a gondola, ski lift, escalator, or sky ride!! [you know, the ski lift chair that takes you over a carnival or fairground??] I pre-purchased the gondola with self-guided tour and tasting package… times three. This included the roundtrip gondola ride and the chance to explore the winery on your own, while stopping at five wine tasting stations sprinkles throughout the complex. It all felt utterly indulgent, walking around the winery [a Napa winery!!] with a freshly poured glass [or three.. which you will understand in a minute] of wine.
Shawn, our friend Chad, and I, all loaded up in the gondola and started our roughly 15-minute ascension to the top!! With spectacular 360-degree views of Napa Valley the ride went by much too quickly. When we reached the top of the hill, we spilled out and promptly received our wine tasting vouchers and wine glasses. [these are not at all like beer goggles, I am talking about a glass from which to drink your wine... LOL] The really fun part about all of this was... since Shawn and Chad do not drink alcohol, I had a constant revolving "full" wine glass!! It was almost like getting three tasting for one!! [well, it was exactly like that!! Hahaha] We just kept rotating the empty glass among us!!
Our leisurely wine tasting walk [and my seemingly bottomless wine glass] was splendid, I never seemed to run out of wine while we were walking around in between the tasting stations... it was like magic!! [wink, wink] I'm not scared to say that after the like the 15th "glass" of wine that was rotated to me, I needed to get some food in my belly!! It was a perfect day to sit outside on the terraces with fabulous views, similar to what we enjoyed while riding up on the gondola. Guess what!? They had the perfect wine-food pairings for each item on the menu!! HA!! All kidding aside, I know my limits and I decided to move on to some good old fashion H2O!!
Sterling Winery may not have been built in a castle but, it was far from disappointing!! Sadly, towards the end of September 2020, the Glass Fire [named for its location near Glass Mountain Road in Deer Park, Napa Valley] ravaged approximately 67,000 acres near Napa, over the course of its 23-day burning spree. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but it had done its damage, destroying nearly 1,500 structures. Two wineries burned completely to the ground, and 25 other winery properties were damaged in some capacity. Of course, I had to check in on the wineries I visited.
Sterling winery was closed after suffering a few losses, and even though the winery buildings remained unharmed, there was a lot of work that needed to be done before they were fit for the public. The offices and tasting rooms were scorched and the back patio sustained superficial damage. The most devastating news for the winery was the realization that the gondola and tram system were a total loss. They immediately started plans to replace the gondola with an updated, new and larger cabin, one that was now ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant.
After being closed for 3 years, Sterling Vineyards reopened in October of 2023 with numerous improvements. The outdoor terraces for wine tasting were beautifully redone, and the winery is soon expected to run entirely on solar power. They have also installed an underground water tank, and have planted drought-resistant plants on site. From the look of things on their website, the winery appears to be good as new... maybe even better then new!! I have no doubt that Sterling Winery is still well worth a visit!!
Come on back next week and Wine With Wixy will take you along for a ride and tour on the Napa wine train!!! Toot toot!!!
Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!
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