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Los Angeles to Santa Barbara
Departing March 17 April 7 April 29 May 5 May 26
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Click Here to View the Schedule $145 per person ... all day entertrainment! For more information or to make reservations please call (714) 546-6923 or (800) KEY-RAIL |
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The Santa
Barbara Vino Train
is just the ticket for those wishing a day of escape to the beautiful
city of Santa Barbara. Enjoy an easy going get-a-way with first class
service and personal attention.
Urban
Wine Trail All our wine tasting will take place right in down
town Santa Barbara led by our experienced guide, Tom Anderson. The
tours are fun, educational and will tantalize your taste buds! Do you
love wine? Do you love adventure? |
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Join
us for an escape from the rigors of the week for a first class
adventure to Santa Barbara ... one of California's dynamic wine regions. Relax and leave the cares of the world behind as you board the Santa Barbara Daylight Vino Train in Los Angeles. The moment you step aboard the Overland Trail, you become aware of the subdued elegance and refined Streamline Moderne appointments of an earlier, more gracious era.
While
enroute, you'll enjoy a delicious and freshly prepared family
style buffet breakfast with Belgium waffle, a delicious fritata,
sliced chicken sausages and more. Our waiter/porters, who have your
comfort and enjoyment in mind, will beckon to your call. The dinner
menu changes to frequently to show here, but rest assured, always good!
"One of California's most beautiful and exciting viticultural regions lies ... just 90 minutes north of the seemingly endless urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Santa Barbara ... is making some of the most thrilling wines in America. ... From ocean-cooled valleys to stark mountain vineyards; from racy syrah to velvety pinot noir to the prospect of great cabernet; from rustic ranchers to reclusive celebrities - if any wine region can have it all, it's Santa Barbara." from "Under the Boardwalk"Anthony Dias Blue
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Our special conveyance: |
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Individually owned private railway cars make up our special Vino Train. The Overland Trail is our primary car and makes most trips. It is a 1940s era, former Southern Pacific club lounge that was built as a mid train 1st class lounge for the San Francisco Overland. Carefully restored and upgraded to meet current Amtrak passenger train requirements, the Overland Trail can be added to virtually any Amtrak train for exciting destinations around the country. The car features a stunning Streamline Modern interior, a most gracious quarter-circle bar, a very comfortable ride, and expansive picture windows. You'll arrive in Santa Barbara in style aboard this gem from the past! The Silver Splendor dome lounge or former Super Chief lounge Acoma are frequent running mates. |
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Our Routing: |
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The Santa Barbara Vino Train transverses the spectacular "coast line" of the former Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific). This was the route of the famed Coast Daylight, described by many as, "the most beautiful train in the world". The train was inaugurated on March 21, 1937 and ran up until the advent of Amtrak in 1971. Our special car will be coupled to the regularly scheduled Amtrak train # 799, northbound and train # 792 southbound. We'll enjoy many scenic highlights through the large picture windows of the Overland Trail including the; Santa Susana pass, farmer's fields, many seaside miles along the mighty Pacific Ocean, and, of course, our final destination, Santa Barbara - aka, the "American Riviera". |
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Destination background: (although our tasting is in downtown Santa Barbara, many of the wines come from the local region) |
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Unique Wine growing Areas The unique, transverse nature of the valley's of Santa Barbara wine country provides a patchwork quilt of microclimates and terrains, resulting in one of the most diverse grape growing regions in the country. The valleys in the Pacific coastline actually run east-west rather than north-south, and both the coastal Santa Ynez Mountain range and the more interior San Rafael range are transverse too. Because of this geologic oddity, the ocean breezes sweep eastward, channeled by the hills and mountains that ring the region. Heading east into the foothills, the temperatures are warm during the day and very cool during the night, whereas the vineyards that lie westward toward the ocean enjoy a mild and moderate climate. Coupled with soils that run the gamut from ancient beach and diatomaceous earth to chirt and limestone, there is a near perfect place for a wide variety of wine grape varietals.
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Santa Ynez Valley Santa Ynez Valley is a long, east-west corridor with very cool temperatures on the coast that become progressively warmer inland. Consequently, several varietals do well, from Pinot Noir in the west to Cabernet and Merlot in the east. Several Rhône and Italian grape varietals have also gained acclaim in this versatile Santa Barbara County AVA.
The largest
concentration of wineries is in the Santa Ynez Valley appellation.
From one-person labors of love to multi-thousand case operations,
each has a dedication to producing wine that truly reflects the high
quality and broad diversity of local grapes. Above information courtesy of the SBCVA. |
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WINE GROWING REGION
Santa Barbara County has a history of wine making and wine grape growing stretching back more than 200 years to before California was a state. From the Mission Era of early California through the Ranchero and Pueblo Era, struggling through Prohibition to the beginning of the modern era of viniculture that started in the 60's, Santa Barbara County continues to combine traditional, hand-made techniques, with the latest cutting-edge innovations in grape-growing and winemaking.
Father Junipero Serra brought grape vine cuttings from Mexico in 1782 to be planted in the fertile bottoms of Sycamore Creek (in what is now known as the Milpas district of Santa Barbara). The largest mission vineyard, about 25 acres, was located in the San Jose Creek area, and an adobe winery, built nearby in 1804, is now Goleta's oldest landmark. In 1884, Justinian Caire imported grape slips from France and planted a 150-acre vineyard on Santa Cruz Island. His prize-winning wines were shipped to San Francisco for bottling. A grapevine planted in 1842 on a farm in Carpinteria grew to monstrous proportions. In fifty years, it had a trunk measuring nine feet around, an arbor covering two acres and an annual yield of ten tons of grapes!
The wine industry has enjoyed a renaissance in Santa Barbara County in the last 25 years. Early studies by researchers from U.C. Davis found that Santa Barbara County was cooler than most wine regions of Northern California and that it had an excellent balance of geology, climate, soil and water, giving it great potential as a viticultural area. The first modern vineyards were planted in the Tepusquet area of the Santa Maria Valley in the early 1960s. Shortly thereafter, vineyards were planted in several parts of the Santa Ynez Valley.
There are now almost 100 wineries in Santa Barbara County, located primarily in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria Valley and Sta Rita Hills appellations. Most of the wineries are small businesses, run by individuals or families. The wine industry in Santa Barbara County grew from virtually nothing in 1970 to a $360 million business 32 years later. More than a million cases of wine are produced annually.
The wines of this region have earned great respect among knowledgeable wine drinkers and have won an impressive array of medals in regional, national and international competitions. The wines frequently receive overall sweepstakes, double golds and platinums, and best-of-class awards, as well as excellent reviews. Santa Barbara County is well-known for fine Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah, as well as Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and other varietals. Above information courtesy of the SBCVA.
Copyright LARail.com, Inc.
Update 1/12/12
The Vino train is proudly operated by LARail.com, Inc.