Brian Rosenwald was a wine aficionado and that really came from him. He made arrangements with several Napa and Santa Ynez (Paso Robles) Valley wineries.
He started up the Pacific Parlour service when it was "his" train as part of Amtrak West which was a major organizational division for awhile in the 1990s. The Starlight belonged to Amtrak West, not whatever the division handling the rest of the LD trains was called at the time. He set out to try to prove he could improve financial performance on "his" train by improving the quality of service rather than mindless cuts. He corralled an all Superliner II fleet for the Starlight when they were brand new, saved the Hi Level lounges for service as PPCs when they were being retired as a result of the Superliner IIs arrival, instituted completely independent menus on the Starlight's dining cars, and the video game cars (not one of his best brainstorms in retrospect). It was the whole "Coast Starlight Superior Service" branding plan, and it was his. The Starlight was a noticeabley different train from the other, generic Amtrak LDs at the time ( I seem to recall it even had better, fluffier bath towels). The only remnant of it now is the Starlight's logo with butler-like guy with the napkin over his arm
Of course, he was booted after Amtrak reorganized and the Amtrak West organization eliminated. He should have become Amtrak’s president.
The wine thing and PPCs held on for a surprising long time after their sponsor, Brian Rosenwald, was gone.