Published: August 12, 2007 11:20 pm            

MEDINA: Collaboration between railroad museum and Spring Lake Winery brings two counties tourism

Wine and trains are helping two counties overcome the need for increased tourism.

The Medina Railroad Museum has been running trains to and from Spring Lake Winery in Lockport the last Sunday of every month since June when the winery held its grand opening. The first three tours were sold out and the season ends in September this year, but there is the possibility of expanding into October, according to Linda Klein, promotions director for the museum.

This collaboration took over a year of communication and planning, according to Dominic Varallo of Varallo Vineyards and Spring Lake Winery. The winery and museum had discussed several ways of bringing people to and from both places.

“When we bought the property, we had no plans to do this,” Varallo said. “But we saw the train tracks and decided we’d find out who ran the train and where it went.”

Since the tour has been such a success this summer, Klein and Varallo say there are plans to add more dates to next year’s schedule, including an extension into the fall months.

“This is our first year, so we wanted to see how it would work out,” Klein said. “We’ll probably do it twice a month next year. We’re still planning things.”

The winery itself is part of the Niagara Wine Trail, which sees many tourists throughout the year. Varallo said his family hadn’t even planned on doing their own version of a wine tour because they are already in a hotspot for wine aficionados.

“A lot of the people I’ve spoken to on the train say it’s some of the best wine they’ve tasted,” Klein said. “These are people who do tours a lot and know a thing or two about wine quality.”

Passengers board the train at Lockport’s Michigan and Park avenues at 10 a.m. for a continental breakfast, where Museum Director Marty Phelps acts as the conductor, punching peoples’ tickets and helping them to their seats while making small talk about trains.

“They call me the Wal-Mart greeter,” Phelps said. “I punch holes in tickets like the old days and talk with the passengers.”

Phelps said people enjoy their ride on a historic passenger train, especially since things are done the old-fashioned way. The clickity-clack sound of the train running along the tracks gets some of the older passengers thinking about their childhood.

“A lot of people like to reminisce about the days when they rode trains with their parents or grandparents,” Phelps said.

The passengers are taken from Lockport to the museum where they can take in the history of trains in the area before traveling to Spring Lake, where they have two and a half hours to taste wines, eat good food and listen to a live band playing at Music by the Lake.

The tour has seen visitors from all over Western New York and Canada. This is great news for both Orleans and Niagara counties because it means more tourists are coming to the area and seeing what there is to offer, said Klein.

“It exposes people to something different to do for adults who come to Orleans County,” she said.

According to Varallo, the tour does more than bring people to the area.

“It’s definitely needed because it provides jobs for people in the area,” he said. “Everybody knows this area could use the money, too.”

Klein said the $29 ticket price covers the entire day, including the train ride, museum visit, wine tasting, food and live music. Proceeds from ticket sales are divided equally between the museum and the winery.

“It’s a great opportunity for everybody,” Varallo said. “We’re all glad it has taken off like it this.”

        

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