Dario’s Pursuits
Explore the ongoing endeavors, philanthropic efforts, and reflections of a living legend:
Winery owner and visionary Dario Sattui.
Stay at Dario’s Patrick Creek Historic Lodge
A Place to Rest and Celebrate – in Nature. Two years ago, during Covid, my wife Irina and I would take occasional trips around Northern California. During one such trip, we were near Oregon along the beautiful Smith River, about 45 minutes northeast of Crescent City. We needed a place to sleep. However, given that we were in the wilderness there was no convenient motel in the vicinity. That’s when we happened upon a historic lodge, miles from the nearest village. We pulled in, but unfortunately, the lodge was closed and was listed for sale. A mere 25 yards away…
Stay at Dario’s Monastery
Stay in Dario’s 10th-Century Italian Monastery in The Heart of Tuscany
Your chance to stay in an Italian monastery with more than 1,000 years of history that has been authentically restored to evoke the romance of another era.
Nestled in the hills at the confluence of three valleys 23 miles east of Siena in Tuscany is “Monastero Le Vallesi”, built more than 1,000 years ago. It remained a fortified monastery in the Augustian Order of the Catholic Church until 1650 when the order was abolished by the Pope, as it rivaled his power. It then became a farm. Dario Sattui, the owner of V. Sattui Winery and Castello di Amorosa, bought it in 1991.
Supporting Science: The Heart of the Matter
Full Circle – with Dario Sattui Approximately eight years ago I fell off my bicycle and broke almost every bone in my neck. Now all my neck bones are fused. I have a plate with screws holding my bones together and I can turn my head only partially. At the time, my wife-to-be, Irina, wanted me to go to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), a well-respected teaching hospital, l but was notified by St. Helena Hospital that there were no beds available. She called her daughter Valeria, a research scientist, who worked for Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco.
Cleaning the Oceans: The Resynergi Process with Dario Sattui
How many people realize that there is an island of trash – mostly discarded plastic – in the Pacific Ocean that is 3 times the size of France, a large European country? 8,000,000 metric tons of discarded plastic escapes into the ocean EVERY YEAR! That is the equivalent of placing five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world. This plastic is killing sea life and birds at an alarming rate.
Learn More
Read more about Dario’s incredible vision and journey:
> History of the Project Part I
> History of the Project Part II
> History of the Project Part III
Written by Dario Sattui and full of hundreds of lush photos of the magnificent castle and grounds, Castello di Amorosa: A Labor of Love tells the improbable story of the castle’s construction and includes an exclusive tour of the castle that only its creator could deliver.
About Dario Sattui
Visitors to Castello di Amorosa are stepping into the vision created by Dario Sattui, the great grandson of pioneering Bay Area vintner Vittorio Sattui. Dario had a flair for entrepreneurship, starting his first business in grammar school. After earning an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley in 1969, Dario traveled around Europe and lived out of an old VW van.
In 1972, he returned to the U.S. intent on re-establishing his great grandfather’s legacy at V. Sattui winery. With $8,000 and a novel approach to the wine business, he re-opened V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena in 1975 and turned a profit in the first year of operation.
Armed with his medieval architectural renderings and another passionate dream, Dario created a 121,000 square foot, 14th century, authentically styled Tuscan castle winery he would call Castello di Amorosa (Castle of Love).
Image on right: 2018, Dario Sattui in front of castle door.
