On the Wine Train with Dad

“It’s just to make me feel better,” said my dad, sixty-two, who was about the median age.

We walked to the gift shop, where I was introduced to Brent Trojan, the wine educator and host who, among other things, puts together the Friday Vintner’s Luncheon Series. The series is a weekly excursion that pairs wines with a four-course lunch and allows diners to query the winemaker while riding to St. Helena and back. Since there are about 350 wineries, and therefore, just as many winemakers in Napa Valley, Brent rarely asks the same vintner back. But my dad, who started Tulocay Winery in 1975, has been asked back almost ten times. The reason for this, I think, is two-fold. One is that my dad is a hilariously good entertainer (even I have learned to appreciate his humor) and the other is that he is unique among winemakers. At a time when beverage conglomerates and beer companies are not uncommon players in winery ownership, my dad has kept Tulocay small, making about 2,000 cases a year. It is one of the oldest wineries in the valley and my dad, for many years, filled almost every role: winemaker, tour guide, grape purchaser, CFO (that’s Chief Forklift Operator), and marketing department. Plus, his wines are really good.

It was 11 a.m. and the train was scheduled to depart in half an hour. My dad and I ducked outside into the late morning sun. Napa is typically warmer in the spring and summer than the Bay Area, a welcome change from a foggy, cold San Francisco. The climate, in addition to the soil, topography, and geology—four elements known to winemakers as terroir—are what make Napa a good place to grow grapes. Good grapes mean good wine, and thus the reason Napa Valley is a world class wine growing region.

We walked out to the tracks as the burgundy and tan railroad cars approached. I could already smell a savory scent wafting from the train; I would later learn that all of the food is cooked on the train, in one of three kitchens.