Napa Valley Wine Train launches murder mystery experiences

The Napa Valley Wine Train, which runs from Yountville to Calistoga, has launched a series of murder mystery experiences, including a Harry Potter-themed evening.

Encouraging attendees to unleash their inner Poirot, the first murder mystery to take place on the train in 2020 will be a 1920s-themed, Agatha Christie-inspired ‘Crime and Punishment’ event on 22 February, which will be repeated throughout the year.

The ‘20s theme continues with the ‘Death of a Ganger’ murder mystery on 15 May, 12 June, and 27 August, where guests are asked to dress as flapper girls and Prohibition era gangsters.

The Pullman cars on the train were built in 1915 as first class carriages

If ‘80s fashion is your thing then head to the ‘Totally 80’s Totally Murder’ evening on 16 July for a night of big hair and bigger shoulder pads and a touch of murder.

The September ‘Till Death do us Part’ event meanwhile, encourages female attendees who are or have once been married to wear their wedding dresses.

Harry Potter fans will have to wait until Halloween for the ‘Wizards and Witches’ murder mysteries, which are due to take place on 17 and 24 October.

During the events, organisers promise that the suspects will appear as “real people” rather than actors, and the mystery will occur as “actual events” rather than a performance.

Prices for the three-hour train ride range between $230-$290 per person and include a three-course meal by executive chef Donald Young.

The experience also includes copious glasses of California wine and stops at a number of celebrated Napa Wineries en route.

Among the Napa Valley wineries the train travels past are: Trefethen, Dominus, Far Niente, Opus One, Robert Mondavi, Inglenook, Beringer, Grgich Hills, Raymond and Louis Martini.

The Wine Train’s 36-mile journey goes from downtown Napa to St. Helena along a historical railroad route built in 1864.

The steel Pullman cars on the train were built in 1915 and originally served as first class coaches for the Northern Pacific Railway.

The cars have since been meticulously restored with Honduran mahogany panelling, brass accents, etched glass petitions and velvet armchairs.