The Francis Ford Coppola Winery Finally
We visited the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Northern Sonoma the other day to take photos to update our Sonoma Winery Tour iPhone App and we were pleasantly surprised, the parking lot was packed. This place went through a massive renovation to turn it into a destination winery complete with a great restaurant, multiple tasting rooms, family museum and in the near future swimming pools (under construction).
But it is a long ride for many people and I was concerned that the place would suffer for that. Apparently not! The design is great, classic Coppola, more New York Italian than Californian as seen through the eyes of a movie director. It’s designed on two levels with a loft that extends the museum while providing room for anther tasting bar.
Every place we went the staff was smiling despite the relative crush of people. What was very neat to see was that the seating of restaurant accommodated large groups easily and it spread out to the patio with its wonderful views of the Alexander Valley. This is where Coppola makes his consumer labels which are nicely made wines at reasonable prices. It’s a very different experience from Rubicon but one that that I think is authentic to the family. The other visitors were clearly have a good time.
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides (Find them on Amazon), and owners of Amicis Tours which does both group and private excursions. They are authors of over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com. Their Apps can be found at http://www.sutromedia.com/apps.html
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