Wine and Cheese Report (again)!

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TinCan782

TinCan782

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1405123525003.jpgOn the northbound Coast Starlight near Paso Robles. As reported previously, the 3 wine "sampler" is $7.50. The cheese and cracker pack is $5.50 and contains 3 different cheeses and three cracker packs. I didn't do the wine tasting...went back to my room with a beer with and the cheese and cracker pack. Hmmm. The photo wants to go landscape even though it's portrait in the gallery. Something with the mobile app?
 
FrensicPic said:
attachicon.gif
1405123525003.jpgOn the northbound Coast Starlight near Paso Robles. As reported previously, the 3 wine "sampler" is $7.50. The cheese and cracker pack is $5.50 and contains 3 different cheeses and three cracker packs. I didn't do the wine tasting...went back to my room with a beer with and the cheese and cracker pack. Hmmm.
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The photo looks fine to me (on Lenovo business laptop ATM). All things considered this sounds like a reasonable solution that I hope takes off and moves to other trains. The only thing that's missing is a report on the wines themselves. Hopefully a review of the product itself will be covered by another member in due time. I've found the splits in the diner to be rather poor quality while the full sized selections in the PPC were much improved (back before they previously discontinued the service).
 
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Devil's Advocate said:
The photo looks fine to me (on Lenovo business laptop ATM). All things considered this sounds like a reasonable solution that I hope takes off and moves to other trains. The only thing that's missing is a report on the wines themselves. I've found the splits in the diner to be rather poor quality while the full sized selections in the PPC were much improved.
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The Dining Car Wine is Cat Water compared to the Wine Tasting Wine (both on Starlight and Builder) and the Host(ess) would usually make that implication several times during the Tastings.
 
One of the wines on our trip was the Chateau Ste Michelle Reisling Columbia Valley 2012. Thought it would be nice to share either at Thanksgiving or for my birthday. We weren't fans of the other ones.
 
That is the cafe car cheese and cracker pack. I love those things. They sell out pretty quickly, in my experience.

Is someone making a quilt? :)
 
SarahZ said:
That is the cafe car cheese and cracker pack. I love those things. They sell out pretty quickly, in my experience.

Is someone making a quilt? :)
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EXCELLENT! I'll be paying them a visit to rathole a few for Vodka and Seven time in the Big Roomette Club high atop the Superliner.
 
Please describe the "wine sampler". Is this a pre-packaged item with 3 different wines in it? Am I to understand the "wine tasting" is carried out by selling prepackaged wine 3-packs? If that's the case, what's the role of the wine server? Maybe I'm not getting this right.
 
FormerOBS said:
Please describe the "wine sampler". Is this a pre-packaged item with 3 different wines in it? Am I to understand the "wine tasting" is carried out by selling prepackaged wine 3-packs? If that's the case, what's the role of the wine server? Maybe I'm not getting this right.
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What they mean is there are 3 wines poured during the tasting in the PPC just like before when the CS and EB held the afternoon tastings! Several people have said they are generous pours but usually not all 3 are quality wines! Of course peoples tastes vary but I really like the Columbia Crest from Washington State that I first tried on the Starlight! Paying for the Cafe cheese and cracker tray isn't on my agenda, I'm not a cheese person!!
 
I didn't always like every local cheese that they served (before), but I liked that they were local cheeses. Granted, Cabot and Tillamook are very nice cheeses, and the Tillamook is even local (for us Oregonians), but they are not the hand-crafted quality of those I had last time I rode the CS or EB. I will probably not be willing to pay for the cheese pack, but I will most likely still do the wine tasting, just as a sociable way to pass the time.
 
OK. There was something about the phrasing that made me wonder whether there were major differences between the tastings out on the west coast, and the tastings we had on the Auto Train. Evidently, it was pretty much the same.

The wine tasting on A-T started out as an arrangement whereby a group of Virginia wineries provided the wine at no cost to Amtrak. When they pulled out of the deal, Amtrak continued the tastings and absorbed these costs. However, the prices on our paperwork showed costs far above normal super market prices for the same wine. I wonder whether Congress' complaints were based on the price Amtrak actually paid for the wine, or an inflated price that reflected what Amtrak would have taken in if the wine had been paid for at the usual markup. Big difference. I also wonder whether anybody in Congress knows the difference, or cares.
 
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yarrow said:
so for a couple to go to both day's wine and cheese it's $52. for mediocre wine and convenience store cheese. no thanks. i will save my pennies and ride "the canadian"
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A nice glass of wine at a restaurant by me is easily $7-11. I don't find the pricing to be outrageous.
 
yarrow said:
so for a couple to go to both day's wine and cheese it's $52. for mediocre wine and convenience store cheese. no thanks. i will save my pennies and ride "the canadian"
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Umm... Why? You don't get anything free on the Canadian (the shot of cheap champaign doesn't count in my book). Or do they have a wine tasting now?

Now save your money and go Pullman if you want all the wine and liquor tastings you can take! Ha.
 
TVRM610 said:
yarrow said:
so for a couple to go to both day's wine and cheese it's $52. for mediocre wine and convenience store cheese. no thanks. i will save my pennies and ride "the canadian"
Click to expand...
Umm... Why? You don't get anything free on the Canadian (the shot of cheap champaign doesn't count in my book). Or do they have a wine tasting now?

Now save your money and go Pullman if you want all the wine and liquor tastings you can take! Ha.
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when yarrow and i took the canadian(2yrs ago last april, toronto to vancouver in a section for an express deal of about $1600 both of us included round trip) there was a wine tasting in the park car which alternated daily with a beer tasting. iirc, the champagne and fancy snacks on boarding were also served daily. of course you always have the coffee,tea, cookies,crackers and fresh made muffins in the park car
 
amamba said:
yarrow said:
so for a couple to go to both day's wine and cheese it's $52. for mediocre wine and convenience store cheese. no thanks. i will save my pennies and ride "the canadian"
Click to expand...
A nice glass of wine at a restaurant by me is easily $7-11. I don't find the pricing to be outrageous.
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as was being discussed in another thread: expensive is in the eye of the beholder.
 
Are the same wines offered at the tasting available for purchase by the glass at dinnertime in the PPC? That used to be how it worked--useful for previewing possibility of a better wine with dinner.
 
yarrow said:
TVRM610 said:
yarrow said:
so for a couple to go to both day's wine and cheese it's $52. for mediocre wine and convenience store cheese. no thanks. i will save my pennies and ride "the canadian"
Click to expand...
Umm... Why? You don't get anything free on the Canadian (the shot of cheap champaign doesn't count in my book). Or do they have a wine tasting now?
Now save your money and go Pullman if you want all the wine and liquor tastings you can take! Ha.
Click to expand...
when yarrow and i took the canadian(2yrs ago last april, toronto to vancouver in a section for an express deal of about $1600 both of us included round trip) there was a wine tasting in the park car which alternated daily with a beer tasting. iirc, the champagne and fancy snacks on boarding were also served daily. of course you always have the coffee,tea, cookies,crackers and fresh made muffins in the park car
Click to expand...
Ahh. Was the wine/ beer tasting free? When I rode last winter (January of 2013) there was nothing like that. I do remember the champaign and fancy snacks.
 
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