LOCAL WALLY VISITS COPPOLA WINERY

Francis Ford Coppola Winery: Is it Worth It? Is There Really Free Wine?

It’s outrageous, ostentatious, and in every way over the top. And it’s a winery. Francis Ford Coppola, the creator of many hit Hollywood films including The Godfather, creates a winery experience that is unlike anything you have ever experienced.

Located in Geyserville, it’s less a winery than a wine theme park. Their marketing department nails it in their description - it’s Cinema, Wine, Food, Hideaways and Adventure! And they mean it, from the giant pool and cabanas you can rent in front (yes, seriously, a pool!) to their Scavenger Hunt experience that includes a can of wine, this isn’t the place to sip and pontificate over the subtleties of the wine. This is wine tasting Hollywood style. And yes, I’ll show you where the free wine is.

And the number one question I get is “Is Francis Ford Coppola Winery Worth It?” Well, we shall see.

Where is Coppola Winery? Napa or Sonoma?

It’s easy to be confused because Francis Ford Coppola owns two wineries. The one in Napa is Inglenook, once called Niebaum-Coppola but now renamed back to Inglenook. At one time he housed all of his movie memorabilia here but no most of it is now gone, moved to his other winery in Geyserville, a town in northern Sonoma County. The one MOST people are referring to when they want to visit “Coppola” is the Geyserville location. This is where you will find all of the movie props and fun stuff, whereas Inglenook is more focused on, well, wine.

The two wineries are NOT close. If you are wine tasting in Napa for a day forget about visiting Coppola in Geyserville. It’s just too far to drive. It’s location means this should be viewed as a separate day trip, it’s own destination. Combine it with a stop in Healdsburg and it’s pretty much the entire day.

What Wine Tasting Options Are There at Francis Ford Coppola Winery?

Free Tastings! - Yes, Coppola is one of the few wineries left that offers free tastings. But just to set the correct expectations, you get but two splashes of wine, just enough to whet your appetite for more wine. Go to the main floor tasting bar for your free wine. But be ready, just like the samples at Costco are not enough for a meal, you’re going to want more.

Sonoma Tasting: At the same tasting bar, how super convenient! Yes, once you have your splashes you most likely will want to keep going and the $20 per person Sonoma Tasting is the logical next step.

Upstairs is the First Flight Tasting, a seated tasting away from the bar that’s $30 per person.

Private Tastings: Customized wine selection based on your wine preferences, it’s $50 per person and reservations are required. Add a cheese and charcuterie board for another $40. Want to do a Private Tasting with a Tour? That’s $60 per person.

Experiences: Take a tour of their bottling facilities ($15) and get a splash of wine (there we go again with the splashes!) or do a scavenger hunt across the property where you’ll need to answer questions on wine, the Coppola family, and film while sipping a can of wine.

OFFICIAL COPPOLA WINERY TASTING INFO

COPPOLA WINERY EVENTS - GREAT FOR FAMILIES

Is the Rustic Restaurant Any Good (or is it a tourist trap)?

One of the hardest things to grapple with is whether Coppola Winery is an authentic experience, or a tourist trap, which also begs the question as to whether the restaurant is worthy of your appetite. I mean, Coppola can feel a lot like Disneyland and everyone knows that you don’t go to Disneyland for the food so I was cautious when entering their restaurant named Rustic. Would this be a fine meal, or an overpriced Olive Garden?

The main dining option at Coppola Winery, Rustic reportedly serves the favorite foods of Francis. The sit down restaurant offers everything from $17 burgers to pastas and pizzas at around $20 to an Italian classic, the Steak Fiorentina, a giant Porterhouse steak cooked on a scorching hot wood fired grill for $95 (for two).

There’s also a no-menu casual meal for $45 where they bring you whatever they’re cooking and serve it up family style with the servers acting out as your long lost Italian relatives. Yes, this is why you need more than the two splashes of free wine if you want to get into character.

So was it good? Yes, surprisingly good. I had the salt encrusted trout where they had to crack off the salt plaster to produce an incredibly moist fish. It was great presentation, and delicious to boot. Overall a very nice dining experience, plan on dining here if you are coming to the winery.

RUSTIC RESTAURANT MENU

Wait, What? There’s a Pool? And I Can Use It?

By now you must be realizing that Coppola Winery isn’t like any other winery in the world. Yes, there is a giant pool and if you are coming during the hot summer months you are going to want to be in it.

You can get a day pass for $40, adults, $20, kids, which grants you access to the pool, the locker room, and a towel. But if you’re going to do this let’s do it right with the Cabine Package for 4 where you get reserved lounge chairs, a cabana, a private changing room, playing cards, even a drink. That package is $145 on weekdays, $210 on weekends. There are only 32 Cabine packages available so book early.

And anyone can go to the Pool Cafe and get a drink to people watch.

COPPOLA POOL INFO AND RESERVATIONS

Movie Magic at Coppola Winery

Let’s start with that Tucker car. Only 50 made, it was used in the movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream and currently worth over a million dollars. I suggest not leaning on it.

“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.”

Yes, that’s The Godfather Don Corleone’s desk. You probably don’t want to be in debt to him.

If you love the smell of napalm in the morning, make sure you check out the Apocalypse Now exhibit.

You’ll find plenty of other movie memorabilia scattered around the facility so if you’re a movie buff take your time and explore.

There’s also bocce ball and plenty of opportunities to purchase goods to take home, including wine. Don’t forget, this is a winery!

So is Visiting Coppola Winery Worth It? Should I Commit a Day to It?

It’s hard to answer that as I have mixed feelings about Coppola Winery. It’s a bit like going wine tasting at Disneyland’s California Adventure, meaning that the wine is secondary to the surroundings. If you are looking for a true winery experience, one where the people serving you are intimately connected with the wine and the winery, then this is not the place. You simply cannot compare Coppola Winery even with his other winery, Inglenook in Napa. They both serve different purposes and cater to different audiences. So if you you have limited time to wine taste, no, I would not spend an entire day driving to Coppola Winery.

If I had multiple days in Napa or Sonoma and have already hit up the top wineries, then yes, perhaps a road trip to Coppola is worthwhile. And certainly if you are already tasting in the Russian River area you should at least stop in

There are a lot worse ways to spend an afternoon than exploring Coppola Winery, having great food, and hanging out at the pool.