Napa's Secret Wine Shop

An Interview with Ryan Graham

Hidden inside the Napa Valley Wine Train Station is one of Napa’s best kept secrets. Great prices and an amazing selection, the Napa Valley Wine Train Wine Store holds more than 500 current release wines with approximately 75 percent from local Napa Valley wineries. The Wine Store carries well known wines, but we really pride ourselves in the large selection of small boutique wines, many of which aren’t even distributed outside of Napa. It is not uncommon to go into the Napa Valley Wine Train’s Wine Store and see a Napa local perusing the different labels searching for that special bottle. And quite often, they find it.

Ryan Graham, the Napa Valley Wine Train’s Wine Director, tells us why this wine shop is so spectacular.

Tell us about the Wine Store?

The Wine Store features some of the best local wines, which I personally choose based on quality and value. Not only do we have lots of hard to find small production wines, but we offer the highest level of customer service, and our staff is both knowledgeable and friendly.

How have you been able to get your hands on those “hard-to-find” wines?

Well, I have been purchasing wine in Napa Valley for the last 10+ years, and over that time have built relationships with many of Napa Valley's top winemakers. In many instances, I tasted and purchased their wines in their first vintages, before they became famous, and I have access to a lot of wines that are no longer readily available.

For example, we were very pleased to just get in a small allocation of Vin Perdu 2008, a highly sought after wine from John Schwartz and Heidi Barrett’s winery, Amuse Bouche. This wine was in such high demand, that it was ‘sold out’ on their website almost immediately after its release. We also carry gems like Sinatra Family Estates, Auteur, Jericho Canyon, Maldonado, Jamey Whetstone’s Whetstone Wine Cellars, and many other boutique, and “cult” wineries.

Can you help people who are just discovering wine?

We specialize in discovering which wines will best fit our customers’ desires. We are happy to suggest food and wine pairings to match with an everyday meal, or find an exceptional wine to impress at a dinner party. We even have professional and amateur chefs on staff to help with food and wine pairing.

Why do locals love shopping here?

I’ve found that locals love to shop here because they respect our reputation. They also know how extraordinary our wine selection is. If they are looking for a hard-to find wine, they often come here first. On top of that, once we’ve established a regular relationship with a local customer, we extend our 10% case discount towards any purchase quantity. It’s a pretty good deal and people seem to really like it.

How are the prices in comparison to other stores?

We have highly competitive prices which are often even better than at other locations. Many of our Napa neighbors know that we are the place to go for great prices on wonderful wines.

What about shipping wine?

We love wine and love helping our customers get it home safe, whether it be with packaging materials for travel, or with secure and reasonably priced shipping to most states and countries.

Do you have any favorite wines at the moment?

Typically, my favorite wine is the one in my glass at the moment. Cheers!

The Napa Valley Wine Train Wine Shop is located at 1275 McKinstry St. Napa, CA 94559 inside of the Wine Train depot. It is open from 9:30am-5:00pm daily. WineTrainStore.com