Napa Valley: Wine trolley to roll in the valley

(NapaValleyRegister) - A little bit of San Francisco will roll through Napa Valley as a new trolley touring service debuts at the end of this month.

Appellation Tours, Inc., a Sonoma-based tourism company, recently announced the launch of The Napa Valley Wine Trolley.

Built like a traditional trolley car on top, but with an RV chassis below, the trolley on wheels will be available starting Friday for daily six-hour tours of Napa’s wine country, said Craig Haskell, general manager of the Napa Valley Wine Trolley.

“We are very excited to bring our unique tour into the Napa Valley,” said Haskell. “Riding in our open-air trolley provides guests with an experience that no other motorized tour company does.”

This isn’t the company’s first trolley venture. Haskell also helped launch the successful Sonoma Valley Wine trolley more than two years ago, he noted.

The Napa Valley Wine Trolley was made in Medford, Ore., by Classic Trolley, Haskell said. Each unit costs upwards of $150,000. Instead of running on electrical lines, as in days of old, these vehicles run via gasoline and can travel freeway speeds.

The trolley may be powered by modern technology but it has a nostalgic look, complete with wooden seats, cushions, brass railings, gold lettering and red painted panels. The Napa trolley is called “Number 29,” he said. And yes, there is a real trolley bell.

Yountville and Calistoga have a public trolley serving as a local bus. Downtown Napa used to have a trolley, part of the VINE bus system. The Napa Valley Wine Trolley is the only wine tour trolley in the area, Haskell said.

The general manager said the trolley will run daily, with predetermined stops at local wineries and NapaStyle restaurant for lunch. The $99 fee covers lunch but not wine tasting fees.