The train likened to a "rolling wine cellar" chugs through California wine country

Chugging along

The Napa Valley Wine Train

May 1, 2000
Web posted at: 4:23 p.m. EDT (2023 GMT)

(CNN) -- For more than a century, wine enthusiasts eager to sample some of the United States' best cabernets and chardonnays have traveled to California's Napa Valley, a lush region about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

In recent years, the trip has become a lot more enjoyable, too.

The Napa Valley Wine Train, a "rolling wine cellar" featuring a wide selection of the best of 200 area vintners, takes aficionados on a three-hour, 36-mile tour of the region.

Riders sample wine, eat well and have a great time, says Vince DeDomenico, who started the train with his wife, Mildred. Their motivation for starting the rail service was simple, he says. They wanted to share with others their twin passions: food and wine.

	GALLERY
Click to view the images

"I put 50 years in the food business and sold my company," DeDomenico says, "so I decided that I wanted to do something that would be a little different, but still connected with wine and food, which is my own personal pleasure."

In the late '80s, DeDomenico began acquiring and restoring vintage cars for his railroad. His inspiration was the "Orient Express," the storied train that has been carrying European travelers for more than 100 years.

"We've been on the Orient Express and we just try to make this better," says DeDomenico, who's in his 80s. "And we feel we have.

"One thing we have an advantage of is that we travel at a fairly moderate speed, and you can enjoy the scenery, whereas the Orient Express is going a lot faster," he says. "And you don't quite enjoy the scenery as much."

California cuisine

It's not just the scenery that passengers enjoy.

Passengers can sip their vino in the lounge car, a restored 1915 Pullman with hand-rubbed Honduran mahogany, etched glass and swivel chairs. Or they can venture to the glass-topped Champagne Vista Dome Car, built in 1954.

The kitchen car is the nerve center of the rolling feast, says wine steward Brent Trojan. There, executive chef Patrick Finney serves 300 meals a trip.

Vincent DeDomenico, founder of the Napa Valley Wine Train, began his business pursuits with the creation of Rice-a-Roni

The food is prepared in classic continental style with California overtones. For example, one dinner features a poached, farm-raised salmon filet in a chipotle lobster sauce and a saute of caramelized onion, fennel and sweet corn. Crispy potato lattice and sterling caviar comes as a garnish. It's served in a gourmet dining car, where hungry diners dig in with fine bone china and silver.

How successful is this operation?

"We've done very well from day one," DeDomenico says. "After the first year, we've been carrying close to 100,000 passengers a year. Now, we're up to 120,000."

His grand plans don't end there. DeDomenico now is going after one of the great banes of California living -- traffic. He's thinking about establishing the Napa Valley Wine Train as a commuter train.

Weather: Napa, California
World Maps and Guides: California
Driving Directions
Currency Converter

Olive Garden serves up fine wine in casual dining
April 24, 2000

Napa Valley Wine Train

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.