{"id":953,"date":"2012-08-04T10:26:36","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T10:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=953"},"modified":"2024-12-04T07:48:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T07:48:49","slug":"its-a-coppola-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/its-a-coppola-life\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s A Coppola Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Francis Ford Coppola has brought absolute magic to the big screen with iconic films like\u00a0American Graffiti<\/em>,\u00a0The Godfather Trilogy<\/em>,\u00a0Dracula<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Apocalypse Now.<\/em><\/p>\n

He has likewise bottled magic in the form of the more than 40 wines produced at his state-of-the-art winemaking facility in Sonoma County.So is it a shocker that a visit to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in the heart of the Alexander Valley is a little \u2026 well \u2026 magical? Hardly.<\/p>\n

A far cry in many ways from the smaller, more intimate wineries for which Sonoma County is known, the Francis Ford Coppola winery is a more sprawling, splashy affair. I dare say there is something almost Hollywood-esque in the majesty of the winery\u2019s impressive entrance and perfectly manicured acres of vineyards (all of which are sustainably farmed for the record). That said, despite its size, the character of Coppola is very much in keeping with the more organic, unpretentious spirit of Sonoma Wine Country.<\/p>\n

A veritable stable of friendly greeters welcome guests to the estate and direct to them to the experiences that best suit their interests.<\/p>\n

Want a tasting? Pop over to the Tasting Room and choose a sampling of Coppola\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

Want a tour? Call ahead and make a reservation and experience that state-of-the-art winemaking facility I referenced above.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A fan of Coppola\u2019s body of work? Visit the movie gallery and see a collection of Coppola\u2019s awards and memorabilia from some of his most famous movies.<\/p>\n

Want a relaxing day by the pool in a park-like setting? Book a\u00a0cabine<\/em>\u00a0at Coppola\u2019s pool and sunbathing terrace and while away a fabulous afternoon in wine country \u2013 sampling great wines and noshing on nibbles from the Pool Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

This latter experience is something that particularly sets the Francis Ford Coppola Winery apart from the rest. With two massive swimming pools surrounded by chaise lounge chairs and 28 European-style personal changing rooms (referred to as\u00a0cabines<\/em>), each equipped with a private shower and available to rent for the day, the pool and sunbathing terrace give Coppola the easy feeling of a resort.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And it is that feeling that inspires visitors to linger at the property. You see, Coppola is more than just a place to taste wine, it is a full-bodied getaway inspired by wine. Sip, dip, nosh, tour and sip again \u2026 how fabulous is that?<\/p>\n

Equally perfect for gay families or a gay gaggle of friends celebrating a special occasion, the pool and terrace at Coppola is \u2013 in a word \u2013 winning!<\/p>\n

Better still, it\u2019s a bargain, particularly for a group. A 2012 Cabine Package costs just $125 and includes:\u00a0<\/em>Four pool passes, up to four lounge chairs, use of four towels, two wine tasting flights plus two \u201csurprise\u201d tastes of exclusive wines, and two souvenir water bottles. (And sometimes there are specials \u2026 just FYI).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Then, if a day of lolling about and sipping wine in the sun isn\u2019t enough fabulous for you and you want to keep the fun going well into the evening, cap the day with dinner under the stars at Rustic, the winery\u2019s full-service restaurant, where Francis Ford Coppola shares his personal pantheon of recipes which emphasize family-style cooking and fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from the property\u2019s organic herb and produce garden.<\/p>\n

Sounds like a perfect day in the Alexander Valley does it not?<\/p>\n

Find out more about Francis Ford Coppola Winery at\u00a0FrancisFordCoppolaWinery.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note: Every Sunday through Oct. 14, experience the 2012 harvest with the special Italian Harvest Tour. Begin the day with a rustic breakfast overlooking Alexander Valley. Afterwards, you\u2019ll pick grapes as the morning mist rises over the vineyard for brix sampling, test barrel and tank samples, punch down grapes in open-top fermentors, and sample fermenting juice. Complete your day with winemaker Q&A and an exclusive, five-course family-style lunch. Cost is $199 per person and reservations are required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Francis Ford Coppola has brought absolute magic to the big screen with iconic films like\u00a0American Graffiti,\u00a0The Godfather Trilogy,\u00a0Dracula\u00a0and\u00a0Apocalypse Now. He has likewise bottled magic in the form of the more than 40 wines produced at his state-of-the-art winemaking facility in Sonoma County.So is it a shocker that a visit to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,1609,1627],"tags":[1434,1215,1171,1206,1207,1209],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-america","category-california","category-sonoma","tag-sonoma","tag-adventure","tag-wine-tasting","tag-film","tag-dining","tag-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14334,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/14334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}