Have you ever gone wine tasting while traveling on a train? Without doubt it is a lot of fun. Let me take you on an Amtrak wine tasting adventure. I recently traveled on the Amtrak Coast Starlight route from Eugene to Portland, Oregon with fellow wine bloggers from Argentina, France and the United States. We had a great time traveling through Oregon wine country.
During the Wine Bloggers Conference 2012 (#WBC12) pre-conference trip we visited South Willamette Valley's King Estate and Pfeiffer wineries. After visiting the wineries, as part of our pre-conference experience, we took the train from Eugene to Portland. We had come to Oregon to explore the Willamette Valley's Pinot Noir. Willamette Valley Wine Country is home to over 200 wineries. The Willamette Valley is well known for its Pinot Noir but the area also produces great Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling and others.
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Time for wine and cheese © Spaswinefood
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| Wine blogging at the Eugene Amtrak Station © Spaswinefood |
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Wine bloggers at Eugene Amtrak Station © Spaswinefood
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I have always loved train travel and welcomed the opportunity to go on this unique wine adventure. The good news for train travelers is that Amtrak offers wine service on its route from Los Angeles to Seattle.
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| Train arriving at Eugene Amtrak Station © Spaswinefood |
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Boarding train at Eugene Amtrak Station © Spaswinefood
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It was not long after we boarded that we were off to have an Amtrak wine and cheese experience.
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Time for wine © Spaswinefood
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As we passed through the beautiful Oregon countryside we sampled a number of wines with cheese and crackers. One thing special about wine bloggers is their willingness to explore new wines. We also love to tweet about all things wine; so as we rode through Oregon wine country we did lots of tweets under #WBC12. Yes, some of these tweets included wine pics (photos).
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| Time for wine, cheese and dialogue © Spaswinefood |
The wines offered on our trip included wines from California, Oregon and Washington (see list of wine and cheese offered). I suspect the wine list will vary over time; so do not forget to check for the most up to date offering. It was awesome to take in the scene outside while sampling the wine offerings.
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| Wines on our train trip © Spaswinefood |
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| Milbrandt Vineyards wine was one of the wines we tasted © Spaswinefood |
Traveling on Amtrak is a great adventure with all the creature comforts. The Coast Starlight route is Wi-Fi friendly, which made it just perfect for wine bloggers to work on posts and send out a few tweets.
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| Time for blogging and relaxing © Spaswinefood |
The length of time for our trip was just perfect for a wine tasting. However, for those on longer trips there are also dining cars and sleeping accommodations. Such features add to overall comfort on a long trip.
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| Amtrak's Coast Starlight dining car © Spaswinefood |
Our Amtrak trip from Eugene to Portland was fun. When we arrived in Portland we were off to join our blogger friends at the conference. However, this train trip left me wanting to return soon. My dream Spaswinefood experience is to take the complete Coast Starlight trip, stopping over at key points along the route to explore Spaswinefood happenings. I also want to check out more of the spectacular west coast scenery to be seen along the Coast Starlight route.
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| Bloggers arriving at Portland Train Station © Spaswinefood |
If a train trip is in your future you will find lots of online resources, such as Independent Travel and a guide to help you plan. Those interested in Amtrak reviews can check out David Parker Brown's article on traveling business class from Portland to Seattle. I invite you to join me in my travels in Oregon and elsewhere in search of the best in Spaswinefood.
Sharon
August 2012
Coast Starlight, Oregon
© Spaswinefood
Spaswinefood posts on the #WBC12 Pre-Conference Tour include:
Other #WBC12 posts include:
I missed the tarin. It sounds like a great time.
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