Inspired by a love of locomotives and the Central Coast’s viticultural bounty, the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum is kicking off a special rail journey highlighting Santa Barbara County wines.
The museum’s 2024 Sunset Wine Rail Excursions, offered in collaboration with Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and the Santa Barbara Wine Collective, will run on May 18, June 22, July 20, Aug. 17, and Sept. 21.
“A big highlight is the sunset ride along the Pacific and a chance to view unspoiled stretches of coastline that are only visible from the train,” said museum docent and Morro Bay local David Weisman, who will accompany guests.
For the May and June bookings, he added, “the hillsides … should be vibrantly green after all the winter rains, possibly with some wildflowers also.”
Priced at $129 and limited to only 24 guests, the tours depart SLO via motorcoach at 11 a.m. and arrive at the Santa Barbara Wine Collective at 1 p.m. Light snacks will be served aboard the motorcoach and at the collective.
Showcasing the county’s seven American Viticultural Areas and 60 grape varieties, the collective is dedicated to educating customers about its wines via tastings, maps, and displays of soil samples, Weisman explained.
“Our guests can sample the regions without having to do all that driving,” he added. “The menu calls for three reds, two whites, and a rosé.
“Wines purchased can be stored at the collective for pickup when guests return to board the train, and it is only about a five-minute walk from the tasting room to the station.”
Following the tasting, guests have approximately three hours to explore the Funk Zone, Stearns Wharf, or lower State Street, and enjoy a late lunch or grab takeout food for the return train trip. Weisman will provide a handout of suggested options.
The Pacific Surfliner will depart Santa Barbara Train Station at 5:45 p.m. and arrive in SLO at around 8:45 p.m.
“The return trip north is narrated by myself, highlighting historic spots, like the rocky cliff off which the tragic naval shipwreck took place off Honda Point in 1923 and also the western spaceport where the SpaceX rockets are launched today,” Weisman said.
“The train’s conductor, whose grandfather worked for the railroad in the last century, may have time to add some family reminiscences and history.”
During the three-hour journey, guests will be treated to a small dessert and can also purchase wine, beer, and cocktails.
“I will serve as the host in taking orders and delivering those items from the café car to the seated passengers,” Weisman said.
Then sit back and enjoy the sunset.
“The 60 miles the train travels along the coastal bluffs is considered one of the [country’s] top three most scenic rail routes,” he added.
However, if you’re more partial to wines of northern San Luis Obispo County, specifically Paso Robles, it’s worth the drive to tour Halter Ranch’s oak-studded hills via vintage trains. The winery’s railroad whisks guests back in time as it meanders through 280 acres of the 2,700-acre property, with sights ranging from art installations and historic landmarks dating back to 1880 to a herd of 120 sheep.
The railroad was created by Halter Ranch proprietor Hansjörg Wyss, born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1935. Wyss turned his dream of experiencing some of Switzerland’s most prestigious locomotives, which traversed the Swiss Alps, into reality, hiring Balson AG in Switzerland to create trains at Halter Ranch that are a 45 percent scale model of their real-life counterparts.
Offered twice a day at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from May 25 until Nov. 3, the winery’s Swiss train tour takes place in the Krokodil No. 414. The replica is inspired by the 1929 original that was nicknamed the “Crocodile” due to its resemblance to a crocodile snout.
For a more luxurious experience, the Yellow Caboose transports up to four passengers for an intimate terroir tour.
“Guests of our Swiss train tour are welcomed with a glass of our 2023 Estate Rosé, crafted from 100 percent organic grapes,” said Halter Ranch winemaker Kevin Sass of Templeton. “Onboard, they’ll explore our organic practices, including year-round sheep grazing in our 256-acre vineyard, and the terroir that defines our timeless wines.”
The pairing of libations and locomotives is compelling—for both wine enthusiasts and train buffs.
“The Swiss train tour gives people a sense of place when they taste the wine,” Sass explained. “They better understand the soils, the climate, the landscape, the habitat surrounding the vineyard—a true farm-to-glass experience.”
Contributor Writer Cherish Whyte is planning her grape train escape. Reach her through the editor at clanham@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 16-26, 2024.