Francis Ford Coppola Winery

An amazing experience! Instead of doing the typical atmosphere, dining and service analysis, I will break down the winery by everything that it has to offer. I would like to point out that I actually did not have the privilege of trying out the restaurant (which was the only thing I was not able to experience). Let's begin with the poolside cafe.

POOLSIDE CAFE:
I had an amazingly positive experience at the poolside cafe. In terms of the atmosphere, you are able to get an excellent view of most of the winery. On one side you have the view of massive, beautiful pool and on the other is the endless rows of grapevines. Additionally, the poolside circular "bar" is right next to the cafe (and is technically a part of it).

In terms of dining, most of the options are what you would see at a typical bar (burgers, pizza, etc). I personally ordered a standard cheese pizza and the portions were amazing! Although I was able to handle the entire thing myself, I would definitely recommend sharing, especially if you're looking for something light.

I would also like to point out that the service at the poolside cafe is amazing. My waiter was very friendly and accommodating. His recommendations actually led to me saving $16 in the end.

POOL:
I personally did not go into the pool myself, but the setup (from what I was able to observe) resembled that of a resort. It is also great to note that the pool is very child friendly. There are plenty of chairs lining the exterior of the pool which are great for leaving your towel to the side and jumping in the pool!

MUSEUM:
If you are a fan of Francis Ford Coppola, then this is the place for you!!! A Coppola memorabilia museum is located right next to the wine tasting area. Items inside range from the Godfather (all three), Apocalypse Now, Patton, etc. It was great to see Coppola's Oscars, set props, fun facts, etc.

WINE TASTING:
Great experience in terms of wine tasting. The service is amazing and very helpful/friendly. In terms of the tasting itself, you are given the options between two "flights" (which are essentially the different orders/wines you are able to choose to taste). No preference between the two. One is solely white wines, while the other consists of three reds and one white wine.

Overall, I would say that visiting Francis Ford Coppola is an absolute MUST VISIT in you ever find yourself in Wine Country, CA. The place is great for anyone, regardless of whether you are under or over 21.

Oh the fabulous pool life!

This review is for the pool only. A friend and her family reserved 4 seats at the pool recently and I had the pleasure of being their 4th wheel.

The day reservation (11am-5pm) for 4 lounge chairs/umbrellas and 1 cabine (changing room with shower) cost $250, so $62.50pp; it's not cheap but it did feel like vacation!

No outside food or drink is permitted. They provide a pitcher of ice water, and a server comes around to take food and drink orders throughout the day. The food and drink options seemed reasonably priced but could add up over the course of a full day. I enjoyed my Cobb salad, chock full of all the goodies, and a can of their new Brut Rosé!

The pool is large and clean and beautiful. I heard that the new, higher pricing is due to there being fewer, more spaced-out seats. That translates to a less-crowded and more peaceful pool experience, so seemed worth it for us.

Would I go weekly? No. I'd rather spend that money on food or wine! But I hope to return at some point when I need another beautiful, relaxing, and refreshing staycation day. Note: the entire summer is already sold out!

I haven't tried Rustic restaurant or the wine tasting there yet. Plan to do that when family visit in the fall - think they'll appreciate the Coppola memorabilia.

I'm usually not one to post reviews but I felt compelled after receiving the worst customer service I've ever had.

I had planned a day of wine tasting with a group of friends on 5/22 and proposed to my now fiancée earlier at that morning. We were on our way to Coppola and realized the highway was backed up due to a car fire. We called Coppola letting them know half of the group would arrive on time but the other half was tied up in traffic due to the fire and the hostess literally said "that's not our problem."

After half of us arrived, we attempted to get seated but they told us we needed our entire group to be seated or our reservation will be cancelled. They acknowledged the fire on the highway but said there's nothing they can do. There was a complete lack of effort in accommodating our group, despite a fire closing down the highway which was obviously completely out of our control.

We requested to speak to a manager thinking we could reason with him/her. The manager was extremely rude and finally "offered" to let half of us get seated and when our friends arrived they could sit with us but could not taste. After being fed up with the service thus far and not wanting to continue the drama given the engagement celebration, we said okay.

Then when our friends arrived, they sat down and we offered them one of our tastings. As soon as the glass touched their lips, the server comes over, interrupted us and abruptly said, "sorry you can't do that" as if we were trying to sneak alcohol to a minor. All we were trying to do was allow our friends to taste their wine that we paid for after they wouldn't give our friends their own tastings.

We couldn't even believe what we were hearing at this point but let it go once again. Then, our glasses miraculously sat empty from 4:30-4:45pm. Tasting closed at 5pm. We asked our server if we could finish our tastings and he said, "sorry you're out of time." We requested the manager again and we were able to finish our tastings.

Management is completely out of touch and is shockingly incompetent. They showed absolutely no effort to make us feel welcomed. Any decent establishment will do their best to accommodate their paying customers especially when they are running a little late due to a fire and were celebrating an engagement...

If you are a fan of Coppola's work then this is a playground for you. If one is local, I can see where the pool and bar could be a great place to go. I'm not either one of those, so for me it was just the wow factor in general. The grounds are beautiful as is the wine shop / museum.

Our wine flight server was excellent although it's quite strict on pours here. Normally we plan to visit only one winery in a day due to usually generous tastings. Not so here. We did get a few "revisits" after it was clear we would join the wine club, though.

We ate at the bistro/tasting room. This was a new process for the winery as a result of Covid regulations. The pizza was decent. It was clearly a "regulation" service. No pepper flakes, oregano, parmesan, etc. It was further confusing that I had to pay for the food separate from the wine and there was a separate server, too. Maybe due to Covid, but still weird as a customer. I've seen it more streamlined elsewhere.

I am a huge Godfather fan and love Sofia. We went for the views and were told the food was great. Sadly, we didn't experience either during our time here. The check in process, though seemingly streamlined was a pass off and waiting with a reservation. We sat outside and were excited to see the views, but were told we couldn't get up from the table and noticed an assigned person watching others getting up or trying to take a very distanced photo like a hawk and swooped in to stop it. There could've been more done to safely allow people to enjoy their experience, but it seemed like they just wanted to quickly run through tastings and turn tables.

This place is absolutely beautiful! This Winery is a must-see in wine country, especially if you're a fan of Francis Ford Coppola's work! The view from the outside is stunning. The atmosphere of the place really makes it. I sat outside and got a wonderful view of the vineyards.

The food was pretty good as well. I tried the Rack of Lamb, pasta carbonara, zucchini fries, regular fries, chocolate mousse, and pana cotta. Their pasta carbonara is the best pasta carbonara I've had at a restaurant with my only critique being it was a tad bit dry. The flavor profile of it was exquisite, and the meat was flavorful. The lamb was also amazing what I would get the next time I go there. The lamb is definitely worth your buck. The zucchini fries were a perfect appetizer. The real star was the desserts. It was definitely the best part of the meal, and something they did absolutely right. One cannot skip dessert if they come here.

The service was excellent. It was really cold the day I went, so they provided each one of my party and I blankets. The menu selection is quite small for the price of the place, and I wish they had more food to offer considering each thing they made was good. The quality of the food was okay compared to all the wonderful things they provide, but the food is second to all the great things to be seen there. And of course, their wine is top quality wine, which was expected!

A magical place for magical things to happen. We were the first guests to sit at the bar in over a year and what a welcome we received!!!!!
The staff here are just some of the most lovely people. The views can't be beat and the wine! The wine is divine

We drove an hour something for wine tasting and it was worth-it. The entrance is grand and beautiful. The customer service was very friendly and made our afternoon a pleasant one. We sat on the patio and the view of the hills and winery was beautiful. We had 4 different tasting and like them so much we bought two bottles.

Lovely and fun day to be here for wine and dine time. Rustic, the full-service restaurant, has reasonably-priced and excellent food selection. Definitely on the top of my list to take friends and family visiting the Bay Area.

Absolutely amazing! I highly recommend this winery to all friends and family. My husband booked this as a surprise gift for Mother's Day. The wine tasting, to the friendly staff and cheese boards it was all amazing! There is a pool, currently with limited capacity. Over all the views, the wine and the people were friendly. I plan to come back again. The views were gorgeous.