BristolUK

Anyone try the tomato wine as featured in Michael Portillo's Canadian railway journeys?

CanadaJimmy

Not tried that one, I have however tried Lang Vineyard's Maple Wine. Not too shabby even if it's a bit pandering to tourists :P


May have to watch that Michael Portillo program though! It's funny because I always think the railways in Canada are pretty lacking compared to Europe, but I guess it's a different kind of experience.

scilly

well, how many trains in Europe take 3 nights and 4 days to complete their journey??

How many trains in Europe (apart from the pure touristy ones) usually serve meals of 3 star wuality, and often of 4 star quality?

definitely a very different type of experience!!!

CanadaJimmy

True, I do hope to take the Rocky Mountaineer at some point as I've heard it's a wonderful experience, like taking a cruise.

However there is no denying that compared to Europe and other parts of the world there are far fewer stations and routes, the trains are slower and do not run very frequently. It isn't possible to even take a train from Vancouver to Calgary for example. In terms of practicality and use as an actual tool to travel from A to B, the passenger rail system in Canada is far less comprehensive. At least we have the Skytrain system in Vancouver which is decent though and always expanding!

That being said, there is certainly value in taking the train as a vacation or pleasure activity, and you make some good points about the quality of the experience and service on board, which I didn't consider in my last post. It is a great way of seeing more of Canada, it seems like that TV show is capturing that side of things.

scilly

Reason .................. think of the population of Europe, and the small distances between say Paris and Berlin. Compare that with the population of Canada and the distance between Vancouver and Calgary or Winnipeg and Toronto.

Trains in the Toronto-Ottawa-Corridor rival almost anything in Europe, but again think fo the distances and population in that small area.

Transit companies want to make money!


As for the Rocky Mountaineer ............. having taken that and regularly using the VIA trains from Vancouver to Halifax, I much prefer VIA.

Rocky Mountaineer is marketed to the tourist market, meals are rather on the pretentious side ...... and you have to take Gold Leaf service to get the full experience of sitting in a dome. Plus you have to pay for your own hotel(s) as the train stops overnight, you also pay for your own evening meal or for the evening entertainment set up by RM for their clients.

It was VIA I was referring to in my previous post. There is nothing to compare with the cruise feeling, combined with the other passenger contacts made in the Bar Car or the Dome Car of VIA. I found nothing to compare with that when we did the Gold Leaf service on RM.

BEVS

Tomato wine anyone?

spouse of scouse

Not unless a Bloody Mary counts.

Siouxie

I used to have one every Christmas morning - ice, tomato juice and vodka... a dash of lee and perrins, a large squeeze of lemon.. a smidgen of celery salt and a grind of pepper - no Tabasco for me though. Perfection

spouse of scouse

Yum! I like about 2 drops of tabasco in mine. They're my 'before I fly' drink, and sometimes my 'while I'm flying' one as well

caretaker

The word on the web is it's a lot like white grape wine with a slight tomato finish. If someone gave me a glass I'd try it. There are quite a few recipes out there. However, now I want a Bloody Mary. I've had my share of Caesars over the years but haven't had a vodka and tomato for ages.

BuckinghamshireBoy

I am of the opinion that the Bloody Mary is one of those 'cyclic' drinks that drops off the radar for months, indeed years at a time.

Strangely I have been back 'in sync' for the last 10 days or so, first time in a couple of years.

With Tabasco, Lee and Perrins, a squeeze of lemon or lime, sea salt if in stock, table salt if not.

Your good health!

Shard

As much as I like tomatoes (raw) I can't think of anything worse that tomato wine.

Portillo's railway journeys look good though. Have seen Vancouver and Calgary so far.

Oink

I like lager.