All Aboard for the Nashville Wine Train

When I first discovered the "Wine Train" I was extremely excited. What could be better than spending a day sipping wine on a train while enjoying the countryside? But right after I pressed "purchase" and bought our nonrefundable tickets online, I began to worry. This was either going to be a glorious day of fun or a nightmarish ride with us trapped on a speeding train full of unruly drunks. What was I thinking??

I decided to keep my fears to myself. Eric is always a great sport when it comes to some of my trip ideas but he wasn't overly excited about this one and had reluctantly agreed to go. I didn't want to give him any reason to back out.

Boarding occurred at 8:30am and, being unsure of what type of food would be available on the train, we got up extra early for breakfast at our downtown Nashville hotel before catching Uber to the station.

Eric is definitely not an early bird.

The wine train excursion is hosted by Tennessee Central Railway which uses restored historic trains for the 3 1/2 hour ride to Baxter, TN where the Delmonico Winery is located. We arrived at the station to an overcast day and as we settled into our seats, a group of 12 women wearing matching "Women gone Wine" t-shirts boarded and sat in the seats behind us. Other people were dressed in 1950's attire which was fun.

As we pulled out of the station, the skies opened up and the downpour of rain began. It felt pretty cozy to be on the train.

The "Women gone Wine" group belted out a shaky rendition of Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine" as Eric looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I laughed it off, excited for the day ahead.

The snack car had the usual fare along with breakfast biscuits, coffee, and cracker and cheese packs. Loaded up with necessities, I was eager to get started on the 14 wines we were about to sample.

Seeing the countryside along the way was very relaxing.

The tasting concluded about 30 minutes before arriving in Baxter. We got there around noon and exited the train right at the Delmonico Winery.

The grounds were set up nicely with several food trucks outside, a BBQ buffet and band inside, and various game tents outside around the perimeter of the main building. After eating lunch, we found a spot on the covered porch to relax and enjoy more wine.

On our return trip to Nashville, we brought the bottle of wine we had purchased at the winery to finish along with fried pies from "The Pie Lady."

Oh, and the "Women gone Wine" group? Well, let's just say they were feeling pretty good on the way back. A couple of them lost their bras (luckily not their shirts) on the train ride back to Nashville but most were subdued by the time we pulled back into the station.

Other than the rainy weather, it turned out to be a great day.

The next morning on our way out of town, we stopped to take a quick look at The Parthenon which is a replica of the original in Athens, Greece.