A Ride on the Wine Train
From WineStyle's Jill Stacey
 Have you experienced the Verde Canyon railroad? If you haven’t you are missing the “boat”! I had heard of the train, and mistakenly confused the Verde Canyon train with the Grand Canyon Railroad. But there is a world of difference! The Grand Canyon Railroad is a nice ride to a beautiful place. The Verde Canyon Railroad is all about the beautiful views along the way. The Verde River gently winds its way through the hills just under ancient cliff dwellings. It’s beautiful. So how can you enhance such a trip? Add wine! Yes wine tasting as you travel back in time past the cliff dwellings, the old homesteads and picture perfect terrain.
My husband and I took the trip last Friday. It was the first wine train of the summer season and it was a perfect mild evening. We arrive early and excited. We walked around the pleasant souvenir shop that also has a small museum off to the side. It was very quaint and really set the mood for our trip. We were boarded promptly at 5:15pm and greeted by our hostess, Amber. Amber, was very fun and full of information about the train and the valley. She seated us at a table for two next to the window. At the table was the menu of wines and food and with it an incredible booklet published by the Verde Canyon Railroad, titled the Grapevine. This edition was titled “Wine: Making its way to America” and was full of informative articles that can be used as a reference to learn to taste wine, define the lingo, and so much more. A gift I was told. Nice touch!
The train slowly began to roll. As we left the station, the staff was ready with our first sample of wine. They served it in cute little 1 oz miniature wine glasses designed to sit still on the table as the train bounced on its rail. Our first sample:
Rhinefarm Vineyard Chardonnay from Sonoma California. The appearance was deep straw in color with aromas of tropical fruits with oak background. The aromas matched the flavors of tropical nectar fruits wrapped in vanilla with a heavy mouth feel and the oak develops in the mid palate and a small green apple finish. Well worth a second taste.
Our food platter came out with the next sample of wine. Rhinefarm Gewurtztraminer, Sonoma California. It was a sampler platter of Julienned Cucumber and Zucchini Salad, Grilled and Chilled Pears with Brie Cheese, Roast Lamb in Pinot Noir Sauce, and Sausage-stuffed Mushroom Caps. The presentation was very nice, and there were additional cheeses and crackers in the back of the train. The Gewurtz was not the sweet German style you commonly taste. It was very crisp, full of lemon rind and a bitter finish. It wasn’t my favorite, but other’s seemed to enjoy it
The third wine was Laetitia Reserve Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley, CA. This was a lighter style Pinot Noir, bright cherry in color with straight forward flavors–a perfect balance of spice and pepper with a gentle oak background. We of course paired it with the lamb in Pinot Noir Sauce. It was a good pairing, but it left us wanting more! We kept our sausage-stuffed mushroom caps for Francis Ford Coppola’s Dry Creek Valley “Director’s Cut” Zinfandel. And it was a nice match. The sausage had just the right amount of herbs and spice to bring out all of those great qualities in a Zinfandel. Deep plum in color with full aromas that caught me at the beginning: Rum Raisin and Bing cherries, dark currants, and a smooth cedar background and gives you the same fruit flavors to fill your mouth and slightly change on your palate leaving you with a finish of smooth spice, leather and lingering oak. This is where we grabbed a glass for $7.00 and headed out on the open car to see the sunset and watch the stars come out–nice and relaxing evening.
Once we came back in to the rail car we were greeted with one of my favorite little Italian Prosecco’s from di Valdabbiadene called Zardetto. Served with Chocolate covered strawberries, a very nice finish to the evening. The Prosecco had just enough fruit aromas to blend with the bubbles to tickle your palate and bubble the chocolate for a real delight.
Find out more and see the up and coming menus at:
Verde Canyon Railroad
verdecanyonrr.com
1-800-293-7245
300 N. Broadway
Clarkdale, AZ 86324-2302
I highly recommend that you book a hotel and spend the night, so you can enjoy the train and have a relaxing breakfast before your drive back.
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