Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Francis Ford Coppola is best known as the six-time Academy Award-winning director of such epic films as The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. As a writer, director, and producer, he has been a central figure in contributing to the shape of contemporary American cinema.

The 1970s was an extraordinary time in his career—writing, directing, and/or producing The Godfather (1972), American Graffiti (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), and Apocalypse Now (1979), a bevy of films earning him 12 Academy Award nominations, five Academy Awards, and two Palme d’Or awards from the Cannes Film Festival. It was during this same period that Francis embarked on an entirely different venture, to tell an entirely different story in the world of winemaking.

Winemaking has been a Coppola family tradition for several generations. Agostino Coppola, Francis Coppola’s grandfather, used to make wine in the basement of his New York apartment building using concrete vats he constructed himself. Over 35 years ago, when Francis and Eleanor Coppola and their children were living in San Francisco, the family began looking for a small cottage in Napa Valley that they could use as a weekend retreat where they could make a little homemade wine. The family cottage they found turned out to be the great Niebaum Mansion in Rutherford, on the famed Inglenook Estate. Suddenly, the prospect of restoring that legendary property sounded far more exciting than making a little bit of wine in the basement.

Once they had successfully accomplished the estate’s restoration—a 30-year endeavor—the Coppola family decided to build a new winery in Sonoma County so that they could create a home for their ever-popular Diamond Collection and Rosso & Bianco wines. Since these wines have always reflected the gracious style of everyday living, Francis Ford Coppola Winery is now the ideal place for friends and family to enjoy our award-winning wines, enjoy a bite to eat, and simply relax in a comfortable, casual setting.