Castello di Amorosa Steps Up To Help Reduce Traffic In Napa Valley

NAPA VALLEY, CA – PHOTO: Dario Sattui (in driver’s seat holding Cal helmet) and his team are serious about ridesharing. His Citroen 2CV which was originally designed to hold 2 farmers and haul 50 kilos of potatoes at 30 mph has been selected as the rideshare vehicle of choice for his enthusiastic employees.

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NAPA COUNTY, CA – Napa Valley winery Castello di Amorosa recently launched an incentivized ride-sharing program for its employees that is a huge success, according to the business.

Approximately 30 castle employees have taken advantage of this program and are carpooling, cycling, walking or taking the bus to work. In this program, drivers and passengers are incentivized with cash payments by the winery of $5 per round trip per passenger if there is less than a 15-mile commute and $10 per round trip per passenger for distances greater than 15 miles.

“We are delighted to be doing our part in cutting down on traffic and pollution,” says winery founder Dario Sattui. “We may be the only winery offering a financial incentive to our employees to ride to work together.”

“We see this program growing at a great pace in the near future, and we’re honored to be a leader in our community to make this a worthwhile project both for our employees, local citizens and ‘Mother Nature,’” he added.

Napa County has studied local traffic patterns over the last several years and, in broad terms, has determined that most of the traffic is caused by people who work here but live somewhere else, he said.

“There are many factors---such as the lack of affordable housing---which cause the traffic which we all are noticing,” Sattui said.

“If other wineries follow our lead and incentivize their employees to share their rides and take public transportation, we may be able to see a difference in a relatively short period of time,” he said.

Castello di Amorosa will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2017. Building the winery was a 15-year labor of love for Sattui. The authentically built castle/winery used European artisans and materials such as antique bricks and roof tiles, hand-hewn timbers and doors, hand-forged iron gates, lamps and hardware and medieval construction techniques and over 8,000 tons of hand-chiseled local stone create this architectural gem.

The winery itself contains advanced crushing and fermentation facilities, four underground levels and 24,000 square feet of caves for barrel aging. Castello di Amorosa owns 83 acres of estate vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. It sells its entire production of wine exclusively at the winery.

Castello di Amorosa is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. March-October and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. November-February. Guests can come only to taste or can take a guided tour followed by tasting. Reservations---for tours only---are recommended by contacting http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/Visit-Us.