Passengers on a Friday afternoon AmTrak train from New York to DC in April might have been grumpy because their engine repeatedly broke down causing delays of many hours. But very few unhappy faces were seen in the train car where French winemaker Paul Goldschmidt sat in route to a DC wine tasting event.
Trapped on the train, the owner of Chateau Siaurac realized he would not be able to make the event scheduled for 5 to 7 PM, so he uncorked the bottles and hosted a wine-tasting for the weary passengers instead.
“Goldschmidt decided to take out his many wines and launch a spontaneous, engaging presentation of his several varieties of excellent Pomerol,” reported Janne Nolan, a professor at George Washington University who was riding in the Acela car with the vintner. “Before long, the disgruntled passengers were singing ‘La Marseillaise’—on the quiet car!”
By the time the train completely broke down in Baltimore, everyone in the car had gotten to know each other and a pair of DC locals even helped the winemaker get to Washington, escorting him in a taxicab.
(WATCH the video below, or READ more from the Washingtonian)