all aboard

I'm embarrassed to say this, but up until last Friday, I had never experienced the Napa Valley Wine Train. Yes, the Wine Train is an extremely touristy thing to do (it is exactly the kind of outing my parents would love), but I feel like it's something everyone does when they visit Napa.

Luckily, we were the featured winery in the Wine Train's Vista Dome Vintners Luncheon series last week, so I got to ride the train for work. (My co-worker, who had also never been on the Wine Train before, and I kept joking about losing our Wine Train virginity.)

The trip takes about three hours -- you leave the station in Napa, chug up the valley (parallel to Highway 29 -- I got to see Mustards' backside -- heehee), turn around in St. Helena and then head home. All the while, you're treated to a multi-course lunch, courtesy of redheaded chef Kelly Macdonald, who makes melt-in-your-mouth veal (see my photo above) and goes from table to table, chatting with guests, during the meal. And you're also drinking a lot of wine, which makes it even harder to navigate the already-rocking railcars. (I actually had to tell our server to stop refilling my glass.)

All in all, it was a fun experience. Although I do have to say the trip would've been cooler if the train actually stopped somewhere -- like at a winery. Or even just let people walk around St. Helena for a little bit.

But then again, maybe releasing a train full of tipsy tourists isn't exactly the best idea. (Yikes. Cringe.)