Southern California’s only wine train is chugging back to life this fall, departing from the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo with two runs scheduled for October 4 at noon and 3 p.m. The 90-minute Backcountry Wine Train carries riders through eastern San Diego County’s scenic highlands aboard a restored vintage train, pairing a curated six-glass tasting flight with desert views along tracks laid more than a century ago.
According to the New York Post, the tasting flight is selected by a sommelier and features wines from local Southern California wineries and vineyards, served alongside individual charcuterie plates and macaroons from a San Diego bakery. Organizers promise plenty of refreshments along the way, and riders who don’t drink can opt for a six-glass tasting flight of handcrafted nonalcoholic beverages instead. All riders must be at least 21 years old.
Three Ticket Tiers, One Presidential Pullman Car
Premium class costs $100 per person and includes access to a restored 1920s train car, per the same account. First class runs $150 per person, offering two-person or four-person tables plus an additional glass of sparkling wine or nonalcoholic cider, with first class guests gaining access to the train’s open-air platform and parlor area.
The splurge option is VIP aboard the Robert Peary, priced at $250 per person and requiring guests to book the entire car, which accommodates up to eight friends and includes personalized tableside service by a sommelier. That sommelier is Lisa Redwine, who curated the excursion’s tasting flight and who will offer riders a conversation opportunity during the trip, the article notes. Redwine passed the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Exam in 2010 as one of only four women in San Diego to earn the title, according to the San Diego Food + Wine Festival, and she now serves as General Manager and Wine Director at Burtech Family Vineyard Winery and judges regional wine competitions; she began teaching in San Diego State University’s Business of Wine program in 2006 and taught there for many years until the program recently ended.
A Pullman Car With a Presidential Past
The Robert Peary itself carries its own weight of history. Built in July 1927 by the Pullman Car & Mfg. Corp. as part of Pullman’s Explorer series, the 83-foot steel heavyweight car was used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 34 times between 1934 and 1936, along with Hollywood celebrities and corporate executives, before it was donated to the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association in October 1974 for preservation. It’s now kept at Campo for private charters and special events, which helps explain the premium attached to the VIP ticket package…