But my idea was to have a place you could come with your children, your parents. “People thought, Oh, here comes this Hollywood guy with his Hollywood ideas. “It was very controversial when we opened here,” says Francis. Squint past the grapevines and you could be poolside at a Las Vegas resort or on the top deck of a cruise ship. They’re entering not so much a winery as they are Francis Ford Coppola’s fantastical vision of what a winery can be, complete with swimming pool, movie props, and pristine tasting bars at every turn. Families with kids, couples on vacation, a group of helmeted retirees in “Will Pedal for Pinot” shirts. While we wait, day-tasters stream in by the busload. At 29, her résumé includes work as a photographer, filmmaker, actress, fashion designer, and now winemaker. The only daughter of Francis’s oldest son, Gian Carlo, who died in a boating accident in 1986, Gia is the latest Coppola to heed the family calling. Stuck in traffic is Gia Coppola, a high branch on the celebrity-ripened Coppola family tree. “Is she on her way?” Francis asks in the direction of an assistant. We’re spread out before a row of Cabernet vines doing what people do most on photo shoots. A few yards away sits the red Tesla that ferried him here from his Rutherford ranch, the driver dozing in the front seat. “I love the drive over here, always have,” says Francis, looking, himself, casually elegant in a cream linen blazer and khaki pants. Since its opening in Alexander Valley 10 years ago, Francis Ford Coppola Winery has transformed the Sonoma wine scene, attracting some 200,000 annual visitors to the quieter north side of the county. But his biggest hit, the one that most clearly articulates his passion, is rooted right here in California wine country. These days, the man behind The Godfather and Apocalypse Now pours his creative energy into a hospitality business that spans the globe. The importance of this partnership, and what it represents, is significant.At 77, Francis Ford Coppola, the bearded, bereted icon of American cinema, is busier than at any time during his Hollywood career. What was facilitated by the success of one of the greats of American cinema has become a major player in the wine industry exclusive of its cinematic origins. That story-of the winery, the winemaking team, and the Coppola family itself-has come full circle with this partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. We want the wines to have their own personality and one that describes who were are as a region and winery.” And, of course, the added benefit of having high-profile film-industry professionals seen drinking these wines promises further visibility to the brand as a whole. As such, Beck explained, “The wines will be changing every year because we want to select the best vineyards and varietals that highlight the vintage. That diversity is increasingly appreciated not just for the range of grape varieties that are successfully grown and vinified by the team at Coppola, but also for the breadth of expressions they are crafting. These wines are special because it's given our winemaking and viticulture teams a chance to collaborate and showcase diversity of our region.” The main varietals are Zinfandel from Dry Creek and Cabernet Sauvignon from our estate in Alexander Valley. The red blend comes from Dry Creek Valley and our estate in Alexander Valley. The Chardonnay comes from the Russian River and we were able to showcase some of our top vineyards for this wine. Corey Beck, President, Director of Winemaking, and General Manager, told me in an email that, “What makes the Academy wines so unique are the vineyards we were able to source from. It’s an important achievement, and one that the winery will be commemorating with a number of special bottlings and labels. I understand,” he continued, “that the Antinori family has said that they have been making wine for 500 years-but the Coppola family has been drinking wine for 700 years and our granddaughter Gia Coppola represents five generations in the film industry.” He added, “Those are only statistics-by-memory but the most important fact is that in our hearts we love the motion picture tradition as exemplified by the Academy as well as the winemaking tradition. “We were one of the earliest of the film people to get into the wine business we do have the most established broad-based wine business of any film celebrity and, as a family, I imagine we have won as many nominations and wins as any.” “What does seem logical to me is that if anyone's going to provide wine to the Academy, it ought to be the Coppola family,” Francis Ford Coppola explained in an email. Now, nearly 45 years after the classic film raised Coppola into the pantheon of great American filmmakers, he has come full circle with this partnership with the Academy.
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