California Wine Month
From Northern California to Southern California, wine is celebrated like no other during the month of September, with numerous festivals, concerts, tastings, tours, harvest parties, and of course wine! Join Amtrak San Joaquins as we list a few of our favorite wine destinations throughout the Golden State during California Wine Month.
Napa
Cheers! September is California Wine Month and harvest season – the perfect excuse to make that trip to Napa! During harvest season, celebrations are about with tours, festivals, and good spirits. If you’re looking to enjoy an afternoon tasting experience, you should check out Robert Biale Vineyards Fall Wines Celebration on Saturday, September 14. This harvest celebration will feature the vineyard’s fall wines along with some delicious bites and music.
Travel to Napa with ease and take Amtrak San Joaquins. Ride the train to the Martinez station and transfer to the Amtrak California Thruway bus service (Bus Route 7) to the Soscol Gateway Transit Center in the heart of downtown Napa. If you can’t make it to the celebration at Robert Biale Vineyards, here are a couple other tasting rooms that are just a short walk away from our downtown station stop!
- Krupp Brothers Tasting Room Downtown – 714 1st St, Napa, CA 94559
- Blackbird Vineyards – 604 Main St, Napa, CA 94559
LODI
Founded in 1869, the City of Lodi was originally named Mokelumne, after the nearby river. The agricultural land surrounding Lodi is known for its rich powder-like soil and is complemented by the dry Mediterranean climate, similar to Sonoma. By 1899, Lodi had more than 2 million grapevines and today is among the nation’s leading wine regions. During Prohibition, Lodi’s wine industry exploded and became the major source of wine for the country. Lodi wine connoisseur, Robert Mondavi, a Lodi High School graduate, brought worldwide recognition of California grapes and wines. Nowadays, Lodi’s wine grapes are grown and produced for companies such as Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi or “parent” producers of numerous popular sub-brands such as E. & J. Gallo, Sutter Home, Constellations, and many more.
In celebration of California Wine Month, visitors can visit a wide variety of tasting rooms and enjoy the region’s finest wines. Amtrak San Joaquin passengers can easily hop off the train at the Lodi station and walk to numerous wine tasting rooms in the nearby vicinity including, Cellardoor, Lodi’s Wine Social, Jeremy Wine Company, McCay Cellars, and several others! Pair your wine tastings with delectable cheese at the Cheese Central. Local cheesemongers can help you with the perfect cheese and provide you with appetizing samples!
For the more adventurous oenophiles, visitors can participate in a Sip Shuttle tour, where the shuttle conveniently picks up and drops off at the Lodi Amtrak station. Sip Shuttle tours transports groups of any size to four Lodi wineries and runs daily from 11:00 AM until 4:30 PM. Continue the celebration of wine month at the Lodi Grape Festival from September 12 – 15th. This year’s festival marks the 82nd year of gathering together to celebrate the grape harvest with carnival, food, murals, live music and of course, wine tasting!
PASO ROBLES
If you are looking for something different in your wine then Paso Robles is the place for you. With unique blends such as , innovative blends: a non-traditional, unique wine blends that have put Paso Robles Wine Country on the map. These blends continue to intrigue wine enthusiasts. It’s easy to get to Paso Robles from anywhere in the Valley by hopping on your nearest Amtrak San Joaquins train and taking the special thruway bus, exclusive to Amtrak, which takes you directly from the Hanford Amtrak Station to the Paso Robles Intermodal Station. Once in Paso Robles, you’ll find yourself within easy walking distance of 24 wineries and tasting rooms, which can be found at www.downtownpasowine.com.
In addition, there are more than 200 other local wineries, most of which are family owned and operated, that can be easily accessed by tapping into any of the dozen or so wine tours and designated driver companies in the area. Many area wineries will be having celebrations throughout the month, so get your palate ready and use Amtrak San Joaquins to make it a September to remember!
Happy tasting!
For more information about Wine Month, visit:
Visit Napa
Visit Lodi
Travel Paso
https://www.travelpaso.com/wine-tasting
For train tickets: https://www.amtrak.com/san-joaquins-train
First image source: Open source
Second image source: Visit Napa Valley
