Saturday, June 30, 2007

Wine Train Icon in Napa Valley Stirs Passions, No, Not the Wine, The Train!

The ANNOTICO Report

Today, the Napa Valley Wine Train is a major attraction in Wine Country, drawing up to 1,200 tourists on weekends and nearly as many on weekdays. At one time a proposal called for nine round trips a day. But that was shot down by residents and vintners, who felt that the train would turn the bucolic valley into an even hokier version of Disneyland's Main Street USA. It now makes 12 round trips from Napa to St. Helena -- seven lunch and five dinner excursions -- a week. Once in a while, an extra tour is added for a special occasion like a wedding.

In 1987, Vincent DeDomenico, a feisty San Francisco food purveyor who had recently sold his Rice-A-Roni and Ghirardelli chocolate empires, paid $2.5 million to Southern Pacific Railroad for 21 miles of run-down tracks of  the railroad line. The tracks were originally used in the early 1800s to bring San Franciscans to Samuel Brannan's resort in Calistoga. but it was now rarely used. Vincent then bought 10  railroad cars and spent $200,00 refurbishing each car.

DeDomenico and his wife, Mildred, had ridden on the Orient Express when they traveled to Europe and had visions of bringing luxury cars, first-rate wines and gourmet train food to the Wine Country's railroad. The train, which holds 300 people, harks back to a romantic time when riding the rails was done in luxury. Mildred DeDomenico designed each car with lavish Victorian details -- richly upholstered, swiveling club chairs, dark mahogany trim, plush floral carpets, thick velvet curtains and brass train racks. The bathrooms have marble sink counters and white hand towels. The tables are set with white damask linens, china and crystal.

They made sure that the chairs would face outside to the scenery, unlike the seats on the Orient Express. Passengers are then treated to an uncensored view of the valley -- rows of picturesque vineyards and charming farmhouses (next to dilapidated trailers and backyards strewn with rusted old cars and equipment. )

Then came 20 years of fighting, name-calling and court battles. Residents feared that not only would the train bring more crowds and disrupt the peace with its noisy whistle, but would turn the Napa Valley into a theme park. And frankly, they thought the train was a bit tacky for their California version of Tuscany.

[RAA Note: I've been to Napa and Calistoga several times, and they have Glider and Balloon Rides. And the Wine Tasting Tour of getting in and out of your car, at each Winery, with short hops is a chore. They should build a monument to him, not giving him grief. Maybe their time would be better spent getting rid of the dilapidated trailers and backyards strewn with rusted old cars and equipment. And then, the former mayor has the audacity to say: ]

"We felt it was on the lower end -- practically a Denny's on wheels," says former Mayor Smith.

It's nothing like Denny's. With  3 hour train packages ranging from $89 to $135, the fare on this moving restaurant offers freshly cooked dishes prepared in the kitchen car and include hors d'oeuvres and three courses with choices such as pan-seared salmon and fennel flan.

Thanks to Pat Gabriel

Chugging along in Napa Valley

After two decades of fighting with locals, the Wine Train rolls on

San Francisco Chronicle

 Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, June 29, 2007

It's been called Denny's on wheels and a rolling noise polluter, but after 18 years of chugging up and down the Napa Valley, the Wine Train has become as much a part of the landscape as the Robert Mondavi bell tower.

The protesters have moved on, the anti-train signs along the tracks have blown down and the boiling resentment of the residents has been dialed down to a low simmer.

"It's a sore that's healed over and we're living with the scar," says Norm Manzer, who two decades ago co-founded Friends of Napa Valley, a coalition committed to derailing the grand plans of a Bay Area man with dreams of his own Orient Express. "We've come to peace with what exists."

Today, the Napa Valley Wine Train is a major attraction in Wine Country, drawing up to 1,200 tourists on weekends and nearly as many on weekdays. At one time a proposal called for nine round trips a day. But that was shot down by residents and vintners, who felt that the train would turn the bucolic valley into an even hokier version of Disneyland's Main Street USA. It now makes 12 round trips from Napa to St. Helena -- seven lunch and five dinner excursions -- a week. Once in a while, an extra tour is added for a special occasion like a wedding.

And the locals have learned to live with it. But it's been a long haul --

20 years of fighting, name-calling and court battles.

In 1987, Vincent DeDomenico, a feisty San Francisco food purveyor who had recently sold his Rice-A-Roni and Ghirardelli chocolate empires, paid $2.5 million to Southern Pacific Railroad for 21 miles of run-down tracks and the rights to the railroad line. The tracks were originally used in the early 1800s to bring San Franciscans to Samuel Brannan's resort in Calistoga. Later, Southern Pacific assumed control. But by the 1980s it was down to once-a-week freight service on the Napa Valley Line.

The company wanted out and DeDomenico wanted in. The former pasta salesman always knew a good business opportunity when he saw one and he liked trains -- a lot. He and his wife, Mildred, had ridden on the Orient Express when they traveled to Europe and had visions of bringing luxury cars, first-rate wines and gourmet train food to the Wine Country's railroad.

But the locals didn't share that vision. In fact, if they could have run DeDomenico out of the valley on the first locomotive through town, they would have.

When opening day came in September 1989, protesters lined the tracks carrying anti-train signs. They parked a flatbed truck, carrying an 8-foot-by-8-foot poster with the words "Wine Train" circled with a big slash through the middle, at the site.

"I think the original proposal scared so many people," remembers former St. Helena Mayor Lowell Smith about a plan that would include passengers disembarking in towns and wineries along the route. "At one point they were talking of it bringing 500,000 extra people into St. Helena a year. Our sewage processing plant couldn't even handle that many more people."

The California Public Utilities Commission, at the urging of the community, blocked the Wine Train from making stops in towns along the tracks, which parallel Highway 29. And many wineries decided that they didn't want the extra business. DeDomenico does have deals, however, with Domaine Chandon and Grgich Hills. Passengers can pay an extra fee to be dropped off at the wineries for private tours and tastings.

Lara Abbott, a spokeswoman for Chandon, said the partnership has been so successful that the winery recently signed a new contract with the Wine Train.

"We've been doing it for eight years," she says. "It helps congestion and stops drinking and driving."

That notion might appeal to travelers stuck on the valley's clogged roads over the July 4 holiday, but opponents of the train argue that the "amusement ride" actually brings more people to the valley, who after their tour along the tracks, continue to explore Wine Country in their cars.

Residents feared that not only would the train bring more crowds and disrupt the peace with its noisy whistle, but would turn the Napa Valley into a theme park. And frankly, they thought the train was a bit tacky for their California version of Tuscany.

"We felt it was on the lower end -- practically a Denny's on wheels," says former Mayor Smith.

He admits, though, that he's never been on the train.

"I think if I got on they'd throw me onto the tracks," he jokes.

It's nothing like Denny's. With train packages ranging from $89 to $135, the fare on this moving restaurant is no Grand Slam breakfast. Freshly cooked dishes are prepared in the kitchen car and include hors d'oeuvres and three courses with choices such as pan-seared salmon and fennel flan.

Passengers can choose from a wine menu that lists some of Napa's biggest names -- Sterling, Beaulieu Vineyard, Beringer, Clos du Val, Niebaum Coppola and St. Supery. Bottles run between $32 and $66 and wines by the glass cost between $6 and $9. Tastings of four different wines can be had for $5.

The train, which holds 300 people, harks back to a romantic time when riding the rails was done in luxury. Mildred DeDomenico designed each car with lavish Victorian details -- richly upholstered, swiveling club chairs, dark mahogany trim, plush floral carpets, thick velvet curtains and brass train racks. The bathrooms have marble sink counters and white hand towels. The tables are set with white damask linens, china and crystal.

The cars, says the 92-year-old DeDomenico, were made in the early 1900s -- the perfect era for his vintage railway line. He purchased 20 of them from train museums in the Southeast for $2,500 apiece.

"Each one cost $200,000 to strip and deck out," says DeDomenico, adding that they made sure that the chairs would face outside to the scenery, unlike the seats on the Orient Express. Passengers are then treated to an uncensored view of the valley -- rows of picturesque vineyards and charming farmhouses next to dilapidated trailers and backyards strewn with rusted old cars and equipment.

During the three-hour tour, riders are free to roam, walking from car to car, as the train travels 18 mph. They can watch the cooks prepare lunch or dinner in the kitchen or make their way to the tasting car. That one seems to get the most action.

Julie Vann and nine others from her neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, were spending a lot of time there one recent Sunday as part of a vacation. They liked the ride and the Luna Sangiovese, one of their many tastings at the crowded bar.

"It may seem like a tourist trap," Vann said. "But it's the only way to see the vineyards at a slower pace without drinking and driving."

Sylvia Espelage, of San Jose, was having a girls' weekend with her friends Angela Cadile and Dorothy Downing. They tasted two different Zinfandels and a Sterling Cabernet.

"They were all excellent," said Espelage, adding that for tastings the portions were generous. "I think one of the wines sells for $40 a bottle."

Cadile also enjoyed her salmon lunch.

"I would do this again," she said. "But I do think it's a little pricey."

In the Vista Dome car, Amber and Matthew Ruiz-Stupi were holding their wedding reception. They had come from Huntington Beach to tie the knot in a little Napa church and then party on the Wine Train.

"I wanted the scenic view," said the bride. "He wanted the wine."

Their guests liked both.

William Hayes and about 45 others from a spirits industry trade group also took the train. He works for Jim Beam in Kentucky, a state known for its bourbon tastings. But on the train it was strictly wine.

"I drank a lot of it, actually," said Hayes, who particularly liked the Hagafen Riesling and thought the trip was excellent.

DeDomenico says he and his wife take the train once or twice a month to make sure everything is running smoothly. He won't talk about his earnings, saying that it's "mostly profitable."

A rough estimate shows that 12 weekly trips, with 60 percent of seats filled and an average ticket of $89, would gross just under $10 million in annual revenue -- without counting amenities like the wine. In 2002, DeDomenico said he had already invested $20 million in the venture, and he continues to pay for upkeep on the tracks, cars and six locomotives.

He says he's happy with the way it all turned out, but hasn't given up on the idea that some day the train will be allowed to disembark in St. Helena. For years valley residents have discussed the idea of a commuter train that locals could take from one town to the next, but have dismissed the Wine Train as a mere amusement and not a means of transportation. Still, the idea intrigues DeDomenico.

"Then it would be more like a real railroad," he says. For now the dream of dropping off passengers in town is on hold. Earlier this month the California Supreme Court refused to listen to an appeal from Wine Train attorneys asking to reverse the PUC's decision. St. Helena City Attorney Amy Valukevich says she believes it's the end of the line for the long-raging court battle.

DeDomenico counters that his lawyers still have plenty of fight left in them. But longtime opponent Norm Manzer just wants it to be over.

"In recent years we've agreed that it worked out for the best," says the 65-year-old insurance salesman, whose office is just 50 feet from the tracks. "There's no need to harbor any more animosity or hold grudges."


An easy beat for Napa's railroad police

The Wine Train has its own police force. Napa Valley Railroad Police Chief Jeff Hullquist and two other officers patrol the tracks, the yard and drive alongside the train in patrol cars to ensure safety.

The tiny police department is funded by the Wine Train. He says railroad police have a long history in the United States, starting in the 1800s. In those days they were called special agents and were hired by the railroad companies to protect passengers and freight from outlaws. Sometimes the special agents themselves had been on the wrong side of the law, but switched for promises of cash. They were often sent out to guard the railroad with just a gun and their wits. The training came on the job.

The agents got a reputation for being rough-and-tumble bullies with little regard for the law. For that reason the railroad employees had a healthy distrust for the agents, Hullquist says.

But that all changed when states began passing legislation that gave governors power to appoint individuals to the position of railroad police and grant them peace officer status.

"Today's railroad police officer is highly trained and tested," says Hullquist.

As far as crime on the Napa Valley line, Hullquist admits the last 18 years have been pretty quiet.

That's not to say that there haven't been a few newsworthy incidents. In 1992 the train made headlines when an angry wedding party of more than 72 was thrown off for alleged bad behavior. At the time, Carol Saal told a Chronicle reporter that she had paid about $5,000 for her daughter's rehearsal dinner. She said that halfway through the trip the party was ejected from the train. Officers stood guard as the riders were bused back to their cars.

Saal blamed the incident on bad service, no drinks and lousy air-conditioning. The staff said the party was so drunk that they verbally abused train employees.

Two years ago the train made news again when several passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries after some of the cars became uncoupled and slammed into the engine, requiring an emergency stop that knocked riders out of their seats.

E-mail Stacy Finz at sfinz@sfchronicle.com.

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