'The wine was destroyed': Parts of famed Castello di Amorosa Winery destroyed in Glass Fire

ByCornell Barnard KGO logo

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Glass Fire destroys parts of famed Napa Valley winery

The owner of Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga says he worst nightmare came true early Monday when part of his beloved winery caught fire and began to burn.

CALISTOGA, Calif. (KGO) -- CAL FIRE has yet to give an estimate on how many homes and buildings have been destroyed in the Glass Fire but we know of several wineries that have burned.

Dozens of wineries are in the mandatory evacuation zones or evacuation warning zones.

"I should have stayed up all night, didn't think fire would jump Highway 29, it was windy last night," said Dario Sattui.

Sattui is the owner of Castello di Amorosa Winery in Calistoga. He says his worst nightmare came true early Monday when part of his beloved winery caught fire and was still burning hours later.

His own employees had to grab hoses to try and put the flames out.

"The lab is gone, offices are gone, the wine was destroyed," Sattui said.

Video obtained by ABC News showed parts of the Castello di Amorosa warehouse that were destroyed by the fire. According to a reporter with Sacramento's ABC10, there were 120,000 bottles of wine in the building worth $5 million.

A video shared to Twitter by Monica Coleman shows what's left behind of a famed Napa winery.

But an hour later, the Glass Fire was still threatening this winery built in 2007.

"The fire is 150 yards from here, I'm nervous, I know firefighters are stretched thin working their butts off, I wish they could have saved the warehouse," said Sattui.

Farther north, smoldering rubble could be seen off Highway 29. Hillside flames were visible from Calistoga, where most of the town has been evacuated.

"The fire is burning to the east of us, to the south of us and to the north. We still have several of evacuation routes still available to us, that will help if we have to evacuate the rest of the community," said Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning.

VIDEO: Smoke, flames in Northern California wine country as fires rage

California firefighters battled destructive new wildfires in wine country north of San Francisco Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already badly scorched state. See scenes from the Glass Incident and other fires in the video above.

A Napa County family is also mourning the loss of their beloved dog.

ZsaZsa the 11-year-old Viszla ran away during the Zakin Family's chaotic evacuation Sunday in St. Helena. She was found later badly burned and taken by a police officer to the vet.

Unfortunately, ZsaZsa didn't survive her injuries.

"I know so many people were praying for ZsaZsa, we thank you so much, we are very grateful for the good wishes, she was a sweet dog," said Jan Zakin.

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