Savor Fruits of the Vine on These Wine-Lover Train Trips

​Delaware River Railroad Winery Train, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 

Pull out of the train station in Phillipsburg and chug for two hours along the Delaware River in the historic train cars pulled by a 154-ton steam locomotive.

​Scenic hamlets and historic sites pepper the route, including Susquehanna Mining Company, where you can stop and pan for gemstones. At the historic Riegelsville train station, a shuttle bus takes passengers to Villa Milagro winery to sip red, white and specialty wines at the source. If you feel like staying the night, the Riegelsville Inn, built in 1838 by the town’s founder, Benjamin Riegel, sits on the banks of the river in neighboring Pennsylvania with a restaurant and pub serving up live music and solid American fare. Catch the train back to town the next day. Tickets are $45. The Winery Train runs through October and resumes in the spring. 

Travelers can sip specialty wines while rolling through New York’s countryside on the Adirondack Railroad.

Andre Jenny / Alamy Stock Photo

Adirondack Railroad: Beer & Wine Train, Utica, New York

​Travel from Utica’s Union Station north to the small town of Remsen on a historic railroad that, in its heyday, transported freight as well as Vanderbilt, Whitney, Roosevelt and other prominent American families to their camps in the Adirondack Mountains. 

​These days, visitors and residents hop aboard for a leisurely 2.5-hour evening roll through New York’s countryside while sampling local beer, such as Saranac and Utica Club, as well as white, red and specialty wines from Thousand Islands Winery. 

​Tickets start at $38. This event is for those who are 21 years and over only. The train runs on select Fridays through October and resumes in the spring.

Oenophiles in first class have access to an outdoor terrace on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad in Colorado.

Efrain Padro / Alamy Stock Photo

​Royal Gorge Route Railroad Lunch and Dinner Rides, Cañon City, Colorado

​This former silver-mining railroad route is now the backdrop for a sophisticated and elegant two-hour dining excursion. All first-class lunch and dinner guests are welcomed with a glass of bubbly, and first-class riders are seated in the Vista Dome, where oversized windows take in the passing 1,000-foot rock walls, tumbling Arkansas River and wildlife outside. (Another reason to consider the splurge: access to an outdoor viewing terrace.)

​For oenophiles, each elegant three-course meal has a choice of entrée (from $199 per person) and can be upgraded with a flight of four wines from the award-winning Winery at Holy Cross Abbey or bottles from the conductor’s reserve wine list, such as a crisp Napa chardonnay or celebratory French champagne. ​

The train offers up to four departures a day. Dinner rides are available on select dates year-round.