Sedona: Verde Canyon Railroad Wine Tasting Evening

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Free cancellation

1/6

Duration4h

GroupUp to 300

LanguagesEN

Rolling Through Arizona Wine Country on Vintage Rails

You board a vintage train at the Clarkdale depot, settle into first-class seating in open-air cars, and spend four hours tasting wines from Arizona vineyards while the Verde River and canyon walls roll past. Cheese and appetizers pair each wine; a sommelier discusses terroir and technique; live commentary covers Perkinsville Ghost Town, the 150-foot bridge, and Tuzigoot National Monument. You return to the depot with the light fading and no logistics to manage.

Step-by-step itinerary

Verde Canyon Railroad wine tasting trip

Visit John Bell Museum at depot
Board Verde Canyon Railroad Grape Train
Enjoy wine tasting with cheeses onboard
View Verde River along the route
See Tuzigoot National Monument from train
Pass SOB Canyon and 150 ft bridge
Hear Perkinsville Ghost Town history

The Experience

The train pulls away from the Clarkdale depot as the light starts to shift, and you're already holding a glass of Viognier from one of the featured Arizona wineries. The Verde Canyon Railroad runs on tracks laid down in 1911 to follow the Verde River, and the river stays visible for most of the journey — cottonwoods thick along the banks, the canyon walls deepening as you move deeper into the landscape. You're in an open-air car, which means the air changes as you climb, and the wine tastes different at different elevations, which your sommelier on board will actually explain instead of just pouring.

The Grape Train Escape is structured around the wines, not around rushing through stops. Each selection comes with cheese and hors d'oeuvres chosen to pair with it, and the Viogniers from each winery are there to talk about what makes their grapes grow the way they do in this particular part of Arizona. The commentary keeps moving — you'll hear about Perkinsville Ghost Town as you approach it, about the 150-foot bridge that crosses SOB Canyon, about Tuzigoot National Monument visible from your seat. None of it feels like filler. The train takes four hours round-trip, which is long enough that you're not rushing between sips and views, but short enough that you're back before the evening gets too late.

Before you board, the John Bell Museum at the depot is worth twenty minutes if you arrive early — it holds the railroad's history and artifacts from when these tracks first opened, plus information on the towns and the Yavapai-Apache Nation whose land you're traveling through. First-class seating is included, which means you get the better vantage from the open cars and don't fight for window space. Bottled water comes with the ticket, so you're not choosing between wine and hydration.

What’s included

First-class seating in open-air cars.
wine tasting with Viogniers from featured Arizona and regional vineyards.
specialty cheeses and hors d'oeuvres paired to each wine.
live sommelier commentary on terroir and winemaking.
bottled water.
on-board narration covering Perkinsville Ghost Town, SOB Canyon, the 150-foot bridge, and Tuzigoot National Monument.
access to the John Bell Museum at the depot before departure.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessiblePets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Verde Canyon Railroad

Is this one for you?Book this if you want wine and landscape without planning a separate trip to a tasting room — the train handles the pacing, the sommelier handles the education, and the open-air cars handle the views.