A Visit to Francis Ford Coppola Winery

On Saturday, we visited the new Francis Ford Coppola Winery, which just opened in July. It was amazing! Coppola had a vision of creating a family resort where people of all ages could enjoy the winery, the restaurant and the pool, as well as games and entertainment. I think he hit the nail on the head with his latest creation.

It isn't entirely finished yet. The pool and cabaña area are still under construction, but the restaurant, bar and movie gallery are open.

How cool are these cabines, complete with showers! They plan to open the pool sometime in October. The European style cabines will be available to rent for the day while lounging by the pool. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

The Movie Gallery showcases Coppola's five Oscars! There is even a Palme d'Or. There is so much memorabilia from The Godfather movies too.

Including The Godfather's original desk and chair!

I was particularly fascinated with the original notes, handwritten by Coppola himself of his ideas for the cast of The Godfather.

Remember the movie Tucker with Jeff Bridges? This is the original automobile from Tucker. What a beaut! There were also props and memorabilia on display from Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The merchandise for sale was especially nice. Everything from olive oil to dishes. I picked up some placemats (just what I need!) and a mesh cheese dome.

Of course, the resort is entirely surrounded by vineyards. The view from the upstairs gallery is stunning.

We ate lunch at Rustic, the onsite restaurant with our friends Frank and Nancie. Nancie, who is also a fellow blogger (Mosaic Art Now) has an eye for design too, so we were soaking up all the details that went into this fabulous resort. In the restaurant we were amazed that over 4000 bottles of vintage Italian olive oil cans lined the walls.

Even the menu was a work of art. We kept ours as a memento.

It ended up being such a lovely afternoon with our friends. We felt like we were in Disneyland!

"I've often felt that modern life tends to separate all the ages too much. In the old days, the children lived with the parents and grandparents, and the family unit each gave one another something very valuable. So when we began to develop the idea for this winery, we thought it should be like a resort, basically a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy the best things in life - food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life." ~ Francis Ford Coppola