Hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day. It's mark wiens, i'm in the beautiful napa valley, which is one of the world's greatest wine growing destinations. And today we have a very special food experience. It's called the wine train and it is a historic railroad that goes through the napa valley that has been converted into a restaurant and a gourmet food experience.

We're actually going to have a chance to arrive early and see some of the behind the scenes of how they prepare the train with the chefs with the food and then serve you an amazing gourmet meal on the wine train. I'm gon na share this entire food experience with you all of the food and the beautiful scenes of napa valley coming up with you today in this video right now. Good morning again, we are walking to the train station to get started with this wine train and actually we're going to the train station early before the train leaves. So we can see a little bit behind the scenes of how they prepare the kitchen.

How the chefs prepare the ingredients for the guests on the wine train before we get to the train station? I just want to say a big thank you to visit california tourism, for sponsoring my trip here to napa valley and for arranging this incredible food. Historical experience. In napa valley really quickly before we step inside we're going to hear a little bit about the history of the wine train and this historic napa valley, railroad from tony yeah, with the tracks put in in the 1800s by sam brannon and sam brannon, was like one Of the first millionaires in san francisco, he had a lumber company, he discovered calistoga, okay and then he had enough money and influence to uh condemn land and allow a railroad to be built to bring his passengers up to his resort in calistoga. So and then it was run by a napa railroad company for many years until southern pacific purchased it and they ran it, and they did a lot of fruit back in the 40s and 50s and then wineries came in and they did a lot of winery work.

But then wine tasting by car became popular, so all of the uh, the shipments stopped uh happening up valley by railroad, okay, so southern pacific started to get rid of the rail and when they went to get rid of the napa branch that we own. Now we put it on the ballot, but the voters of nepa didn't want to do it. So a small group of investors took over. They made the idea for the wine train, found vince t dominico, who was selling his family business golden grain and his personal business.

Rice-A-Roni and then he put almost 15 million dollars into purchasing it, buying the old 1915 pullman cars the 1950 locomotives and then restoring the track. So we can get it operational and it's been running ever since september of 1989.. You can tell we're getting close because it smells good already, oh yeah, so all the food is brought here and it's prepped. Okay, so they'll put it on the train so that when you get your order taken, then they can create your plate as you desire.

Oh man, i smell some beefy aromas coming from the kitchen today, very good. How are you today so cool to see the food behind the scenes very similar to a first class airplane or business class airplane where they prepare all of the food arranged so well and just make it look so good? So we've seen a little bit of the preparation, we're gon na see them as they load some of the food carts onto the train, uh and then prepare it for the guests. So this just goes directly to the train loading. Basically, all right.

So a little walkway goes directly from the kitchen to the train, cart to the train kitchen and they load up all the ingredients so really quickly. It is 9 15 right now. The train departs at 11 30 a.m for lunch. So, there's about two hours, a little over two hours to prepare all the kitchen to get everything ready before we take the train, the wine train.

I was just talking with one of the the managers, and he mentioned uh - that it holds about 150 to 170 guests per train for lunch or for dinner. Thank you, yep. Thank you wow. This is one of the dining cars where we'll be having lunch.

I believe, today, later on in a few hours which they're just prepping they're, just setting the tables setting the glasses making sure the the napkins are placed correctly and doing some vacuuming and cleaning up the carriage before it's ready. Okay, it's kind of like a views and relaxing before your meal. Oh so right now we're in a lounge car that we use for desserts. You can see how this is the perfect place for sitting for relaxing for having a drink while enjoying the view going through.

Napa valley now we're going back to the wine train station where we'll board and then we'll see how the food, how the entire experience unfolds in the napa valley wine drain all right. So we have a little bit of time here at the train station before our train will board gentlemen. At this time, all passengers will legacy green on their boarding passes. Please proceed through the west double doors mark ii.

Trains. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

You're right here - oh okay, great thank you welcome officially now to the wine train, and this is our seat for the we're gon na be switching around from different carriage to different carriage, depending on where we are and what we're gon na be eating. But this is the first place that we're starting. Oh all, the bucket seats we're leaving good morning good morning welcome aboard the napa valley wine train. My name is tasha all right.

We also have danny here and priscilla and um. We are here to serve you, while you're in this car with us today and literally on my first sip, we're going to be on this carriage for the first hour and a half and appetizers will be served here and then, after that, we'll transfer to the meal. Carriage, where we'll sit down for the full meal, but for now we're gon na sit down we're gon na relax, we're gon na enjoy the views get out of napa the town and into the vineyards. This is the whole napa valley, but we're starting in napa town and we're gon na be taking the train up to st helena uh.

I believe, that's where we'll then turn around and then come back bright, blue skies. Puffy clouds, the sun is shining. The weather conditions. Could not be more perfect and definitely a lot of people would come here or take the wine train for a special occasion for an anniversary for a birthday to celebrate something because it's i mean it's so elegant.

What i like is that it's a meal with an atmosphere and as soon as you get out of napa the town we're getting into the beautifully scenic vineyards lines and rows of grapes, mountains in the distance - and i mean this - is what napa valley is known throughout The world for oh, thank you very much, all right, no problem. Thank you, yeah right here. It's fine, thank you, and these are actually the appetizers that we saw them assembling at the commissary earlier this morning. I'll try some of that cheese first bite and then a piece of that, oh and then a piece of that salami.

How about that salami? Oh yeah, great, especially with the drinks, hey and another type of cheese, i'm not sure what type of cheese! This is exactly. I think it's blue cheese, oh wow - oh that's, amazing, so creamy, oh man, so complex and fermented and aged hey and some grapes juicy grapes, but man that's salty cheese and contrasted by those juicy sweet grapes. Wonderful, actually, i think it's like heart of palm part of palm. Is it hard at home, sweet slightly briny and vinegary a little bit sour.

Thank you. Oh thank you very much. We are, i believe, pulling into saint helena, which is also a very famous city in the napa valley, we're going to have a little stop and the locomotive is going to transfer to the other side and then we're well we're going to transfer to the mule carriage And then we'll head back towards napa the town come here, enjoy your lunch. Thank you all.

So very much. Thank you very much. I'm gon na start following you. Thank you very much and from here we are changing cars moving to the dining car, so this is gon na, be your forward facing side on this side, we're traveling south.

To start all right, um go right ahead. Thank you very much. You'll scan your qr code right there on the table and it'll bring up our menu, all right, cool all right, and then we have two specials so on the menu today, there's the fresh catch which is salmon today, there's herb roasted chicken and there's porcini dusted beef. Tenderloin for sure not missing the beef tenderloin one herb roasted chicken and then two beef tenderloins, two salads and one soup, please two criminals: okay, thank you fresh bread! Oh it's warm nice smell that sourdough such a cool concept.

Such a cool idea cannot meet the views with your meal very much you're welcome. Thank you very much of our roasted beet. Salads salad is served and we also got the soup, which is a roasted tomato soup with sour cream wow. I love the tartness of it.

I've been loving the tomatoes in napa valley, so tart, so fresh, a little bit of black pepper, just a little bit of seasoning there, but really relying on the beauty of those tomatoes. Next up for the salad and it's a beet salad. So i believe, there's beets on the bottom there's pistachios on top oh yeah, all the beets are on the bottom: okay, oh wow, the beets, the freshness of the lettuce and the crunch of the pistachios. I believe on the bottom of the base is like a goat.

Yogurt really creamy, really rich, so buttery and then from here should be main course. So i'm gon na slip back to the kitchen and see some of the action of how they're assembling the main courses. I love the action in the kitchen and then also i mean, as the train is rocking back and forth, they're slicing meats. There looks like there's a choice today between uh the beef, the chicken salmon plus all the red, roasted vegetables and all the different sides, but yeah, while the train is rocking like creating beautiful, beautiful plates of food and cleaning them up without spilling sauces.

That's fantastic! Hey! Okay, very good. The kitchen is intense at the lunchtime hour because you know like a a typical restaurant guests arrive. I mean at a staggered time, but on the wine train, everybody is there all at the same time and ready to eat. So when the lunch rush is in like it's just a mad rush to serve all of the customers on the the dining cart and men, they just fly in the kitchen, all while rocking back and forth on the train.

Literally, i mean all the tables are served and then it's quiet, but man for like 20, 30 minutes there, it's just intense in the kitchen. Yes sure. Thank you very much chicken. All right.

You can just put it right here, yep. Thank you very much. It's served with mushrooms, it's served with some sauteed broccoli and then also a handful that beef tenderloin gravy goes on and then that beautiful handful of fried uh shoestring onions on top which is so aromatic, and then we also got a chicken herb roasted chicken. Let's start with the tenderloin making sure to get some of those shoestring onions, oh wow, the tenderness, the juiciness of the tenderloin, the fragrance of the fried onions.

You really taste the gravy, as you can really taste the condensed flavor of the beef. The meat juices get some of those mushrooms on the bottom wow. That's wonderful, also, the the red wine in that sauce, or maybe in the mushrooms and for the roast chicken herb crusted roasted chicken. Oh chicken is really good, really lemony and zesty and herbal.

You really taste the the i think, rosemary as that chicken has been roasted. The chicken itself is nice and juicy wow. I like the chicken really good food, and really i mean we saw them, make it fresh. They put.

The final touches put the sear on the dishes in the kitchen and then assemble them and then bring them out to your table. So it's really a gourmet meal experience and again yeah. I mean i think it's so cool that we are drinking a cup of wine. We are eating delicious food while on the go, while the view is just constantly changing from vineyard to vineyard, passing through the rolling hills - and this is such a good way to experience.

Napa valley try a piece of this broccoli, oh yeah, nice and crisp. It has a real nice fiery, taste to it good, thank you below the tenderloin. Oh, you can see. What's also powering this dish, there's some bacon in there.

Oh man, that's what's making it nice and tasty yeah that was delicious. Dessert should be coming out pretty soon because pretty soon i think we'll be getting back to napa. So this is chocolate, mousse and creme brulee all right all right! Thank you, but a lot of the servers told me that the creme brulee is like one of the best creme brulees they've ever had. So we got to start with that.

Caramelized sugar crust on the top break that down below oh some blueberries and a raspberry on top, oh yeah, that is good, so creamy, the crispy sugar on the top and then just like. With that light, topping and blueberries on top yeah, that's rich creamy. It is a great way to end your meal. Oh that's good too, though foamy so light and fluffy and really really chocolatey yeah.

Both desserts are really good and with dessert. I think we just have about about 10 or 15 minutes until we're gon na be back in napa town man. It's gone by way too fast, already three hours really we've been out here for three hours. It only seems like we've been on here for an hour.

Um, of course, time goes by fast when you're eating, when you're enjoying the views. The only thing i'm disappointed about is there's no time for a nap back on the first car we were on with those those bucket seats yeah. It took three hours, but it went by so fast. I thought it was a fantastic time, a great way to see the valley to see the vineyards and just the natural beauty.

The rolling hills, and especially the leaves turning different colors this time of the year, and it was really about the ambience about the historic railroad and about the food and and the wine of course. So it's not cheap, but definitely you pay for not only the meal but the entire process of what goes in to making the wine train. And then i want to say a big thank you to you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it, leave a comment below i'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed, make sure you sure you subscribe for lots more food and travel videos, goodbye from napa valley - and i will see You on the next video.

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