Wine Tasting Amtrak

[Superliner Diner]

From the Ardmore, OK Ardmoreite, 5/9/03:

Wine tasting AmtrakPassengers on Amtrak's Heartland Flyer will soon experience a new amenity -- onboard wine tasting! Amtrak's Heartland Flyer will have wine tastings in the lounge car on train No. 822, starting approximately 30 minutes after departure from Fort Worth, Texas.

Full story is here.

 

[rail sale]

Wait a minute

Fort Worth - Oklahoma City - Wine Tasting

one of these things doesn't belong

how about a Huber Bock, Lone Star and what ever you drink in Oklahoma tasting

 

[gyuri_ft]

Shouln't be it (free of charge for the 1st class passengers) on CZ or CS or whatever gos from/into California?

On Boston trains it could be a beer bash.

 

[tp49]

Do people in Texas and Oklahoma know what wine is? Beer and whiskey yes, but wine? I was under the impression that if you were a guy and drank wine in Texas they questioned your manhood then tossed you out...

 

[amtrak_flyer]

Thats weird, who's sponsoring it? More wine tasting's for Sleeper passengers would be nice on the Long distance trains, like the Palour car on the Coast starlight. They could have them in the dining car in the afternoons...

 

[Amfleet]

...wine tastings in the lounge car...

Uhh...there is just that cruddy and cramped cafe on the lower level of one of the Superliner Coaches. Unless they plan to add a Diner or Lounge, but there are very little, if any, spares. Maybe the Heartland Flyer will be getting Horizon/Amfleet equipment to free up Superliners???

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

An experienced wine expert can be an excellent marketing tool for a vintner seeking to expand his/her market. I would think the captive audience on a train only enhances the effect. Given that the wine events are only once a month, and only during the summer, I suspect this is some kind of marketing scheme for which (I hope) Amtrak is charging some kind of promotional fee. I am somewhat surprised we don't hear about more of these kinds of promotional events on Amtrak. Amtrak employees giving wine talks (such as on the Coast Starlight) are not allowed to partake of the samples. I wonder if the same rules apply to the outside representatives giving the talks on the Heartland Flyer?

 

[amtrakadirondack]

:huh: I'm surprised that Amtrak is not offering wine tasting on board the Amtrak Cascades, becuase the Cascades travels through the valleys that make lots of world-class wine. :huh:

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

If I owned a vineyard in the Portland/Seattle area, I think could easily justify a considerable promotional fee to Amtrak for the privilege of conducting periodic tasting tours on the Cascades. I can’t think of many better venues.

There are, in fact, some rather good wines out of Texas and Oklahoma (nothing like out of Oregon or Washington), but the hassles with SUPs (Special Use Permits) and alcohol control throughout the Midwest and the Planes States do not apply (I understand) on Amtrak, which comes under Federal jurisdiction. SUPs and such anywhere near the Bible Belt are more trouble than they are worth sometimes. I think promoting through Amtrak is a huge cost and time saver for the promoter in Oklahoma and other such places.

I think I'll go ahead and book myself on the Heartland Flyer just to see what the event is like.