Wine Train - Napa Valley

July 25

Today we are taking a train ride through wine country in Napa.  We will be having lunch on the train.
The meal is prepared on the train and we will eat in a fully restored 1952 Vista Dome railroad car.  The tracks were laid in the 1860's by a San Francisco business man to take his friends to the hot springs in Calistoga, CA. 

Our dining car

 

 

 

Our waitress's family owns a vineyard so she was knowledgeable and could answer a lot of questions.

She said each owner had their own way of keeping their vines trimmed.  So you see some shaggy and some very regimented  She said the vine is like a tree and can live a long time.  We saw some that were as big around as a small tree.  She also, pointed out that there is a lot of competition between the French and Italian wineries. 

The wineries all have fancy tasting rooms, but there are only about 4 that are still free.

 

This building is over 100 yrs. old.  One winery has it's building made out of grape vines, so you can see through the walls.

Lots of pretty landscaping.

This area is home to several really large eucalyptus trees.  They are not native to America and our waitress said Robert Louis Stevenson liked the furniture he saw made out of it's wood so he brought a bunch to America where he found out he had the wrong variety.  So he sold them off the docks for $1 the homesteaders bought them.  So some of these trees are over 100 yrs. old.

Well our trip is almost over.  So here is a toast to all of you.  CHEERS!