Bert and Rhonda Combs of Seattle sit down at Rellik Winery to taste samples during the first Jacksonville Wine Trolley tour Friday afternoon.

Wine drinkers in the Rogue Valley have the opportunity to ride a trolley and tour some of the tasting rooms and wineries around Jacksonville, the heart of Southern Oregon wine country.

The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s newly launched trolley takes riders to six wineries and three downtown tasting rooms.

The trolley operates on a hub-and-spoke system, which lets users visit as many wineries and vineyards as they’d like. The trolley stops at each participating winery every 80 minutes and returns to the visitors center at 185 N. Oregon St. in downtown Jacksonville every 30 minutes.

“People are allowed to create their own schedule and their own experience for the day,” said Brian Dunn, president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. “We are going to run the service Friday through Sunday from noon to 6:30 p.m.”

Tickets for the Wine Trolley are $25 per person for a day pass and they can be purchased either online or in person at the visitor center.

The new program has had early success so far, according to Dunn.

“We have 40 tickets already sold for Friday [Sept. 1],” he said. “There’s no service like this on the West Coast or the Pacific Northwest.”

The Wine Trolley stops include Awen Winecraft, Daisy Creek Vineyard, DANCIN Vineyards, Dos Mariposas Vineyards, Hummingbird Estate and Rellik Winery. The tasting rooms include Anchor Valley Wine, Remotion Wine and South Stage Cellars.

While the tasting rooms aren’t included in the trolley bus routes, all are walkable from the Wine Trolley bus stop at the visitor center.

“It’s a curated experience. Trolley drivers are trained to speak about the vineyards people are arriving at,” Dunn said.

The trolley service includes slow jazz music during the ride. The intent of the Wine Trolley program is to stimulate Jacksonville’s economy through the wineries, tasting rooms and other related businesses.

“We’re sharing with people about this service and how great our wine is in Southern Oregon,” Dunn said. “We think it’s going to extend to local lodging partners.”

If the program is a success, organizers hope to extend operations to Thursdays in 2024, and potentially have it run from May through October.

“Right now, we’re applying for another grant with the city of Jacksonville to get funds to repaint the trolley,” Dunn said. “We’re going to do cosmetic improvements, a fresh paint job tip to tail and painting the interior as well and selecting a color palette and pinstriping scheme that matches the brand and image we want to portray to the community.”

The Chamber will hear back on whether it will receive the grant by November, Dunn added. The Wine Trolley program is a collective effort between the Chamber, city of Jacksonville and the Wineries of Jacksonville Alliance.

The Wine Trolley’s final weekend of operation will be the third weekend of October, with the program wrapping up Oct. 22.

To learn more about the Wine Trolley, winery routes and to purchase tickets, visit jacksonvilleoregon.org/jacksonville-wine-trolley.