Napa Wine Train!!

I believe the comment I made on my Facebook post was “ALL ABOARD.. The Napa Wine Train!! Seriously one of the coolest things I've ever done!! LOVE this wine country!!” Even though it’s many, many years later, every time I think about our train ride, I still get this same feeling!! Is it decadence or opulence?? [yes, I know they basically mean the same thing] I think either word fits the bill nicely, and just in case let's just say it was simply a totally amazing experience!! If you can believe it, I once again took soooo many photos!! [also please do not be alarmed by the creepy looking waiter who is photobombing in one of the oval dining room car windows, I just noticed him myself.. Hahaha]   

The Napa Railroad has been traveling through the Valley for over 175 years!! I'll give you a condensed version of the long story about how the wine train got its start... It all began as a dream of one man, Samuel Brannan. Samuel was a mercantile owner before the gold rush and his savvy business sense empowered him to become California’s first millionaire!! In 1861, he took his millions and purchased roughly 2,000 acres in North Napa, where he built and entire town that included a spa resort. He called this town Calistoga and in 1864, he finished the train depot for the Napa Valley Railroad. He wanted to ensure the way of transportation to bring visitors to his new town. Samuels ingenuity started the creation of a booming industry for tourism in Napa Valley. 

Jump ahead to the mid 1980’s, to a time when the Railroad was almost closed!! The Southern Pacific Railroad Network announced its intent to abandon this section of the rail line to the Interstate Commerce Commission. However, the dreams of another man stepped in to save the day and the railroad. Vince DeDomenico, who was one of the inventors of Rice-A-Roni, [now who is singing the rest of this jingle in their heads!? LOL] led a group of local entrepreneurs to raise a cool $2.5 million in funds so they could purchase the railroad. The vision was to create an extravagant way to travel through Napa Valley and enjoy the scenic landscape of mountains and vineyards. [also, do not be fooled by the picture below, the boys may have been threatened, I mean asked very nicely to join me in a "CHEERS" photo, but I drank all the wine!! Hahaha]

Vince and his team began to look for and purchase antique railroad locomotives and passenger cars. The train cars were then renovated and transformed into beautiful and elegant coaches. The Wine Train took its first trip some 35 years ago, running every day while keeping the legacy of the “golden age” alive. Today there are two trains in operation. The Main Wine train can hold up to 350 passengers and is composed of nine passenger cars, [like the lounge cars pictured above and below] two power cars, and two on-board kitchens. They have several experiences available, including lunch and dinner. The Legacy train is a smaller, more exclusive train that can only hold up to 70 passengers. This train offers a six-hour experience daily with a gourmet meal, wine tasting, and multiple stops along the route.

I totally wracked every crevice of my brain and looked through all my photos, I even tried picking Shawn and Chad’s brains but alas… we could collectively not remember the train package we purchased. So, I said to myself… self… what are the chances that if you called the Wine Train and spoke to someone that they would have some kind of record still on file!? [good idea, right!? Hehe] I called the reservations line and spoke to a very helpful agent, but she said they now use a different booking system then they had 7 years ago. Bummer... but then she asked me some questions, and based on the information I was able to provide about our experience, she believed it was the package they had for a late dinner, one that they no longer offer.

We started our 36-mile, round trip, luxury train ride in Downtown Napa at the Oxbow Commons train station. On this first leg of the trip, we rode in the dining car where we enjoyed a glass of wine, [well, I enjoyed three glasses.. LOL] and the first two courses of our meal. [even though none of us remember eating.. hmmm] We turned around when we reached St. Helena, and I even have the fun photos of us sticking our heads out of the windows, the ones that were in the doors where the cars were connected so we watch the action, and the passing train!! Oh why not share just one more picture!? You can see the boys below.. Hahaha!!

Once we were on the move again and heading back to the Train Station in Downtown Napa, we progressed into the very comfortable lounge car [you know, so we could lounge] and this is where we were served our third course... desert!! I also had the dessert wine flight that is pictured above!! The perfect setting for a nightcap as we watched the sunset over the beautiful Napa Valley!!

How many I love Lucy fans do I have out there!? Well, next I will be trying my best to do Lucy proud... you guessed it, Wine with Wixy will be stomping grapes!!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!