A Beautiful Pairing of Cinema and Wine in Sonoma, California

Our week in Sonoma County, California wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t visit a winery. This area, adjacent to Napa Valley, is almost as well-known for it’s beautiful vineyards and delicious wines, and many of the locals we spoke to feel it is better since it isn’t as crowded.

While there are many wineries offering tastings and tours, our look-for’s were a bit more. BJ enjoys a variety of wines, but I have only found that I like Moscatos, so a wine tasting wasn’t on my list for this area. But I love seeing the process and learning the history, so we wanted someplace with a story to tell. We also wanted to grab a bite to eat while there, and not all the wineries had on site food options.

When we found the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, offering tastings, food and history as well as movie memorabilia, we knew this was the one we’d be going to.

The entrance is grand and definitely gave me nostalgic Italian vibes as we drove through the vineyard, parked in the tree-lined gravel parking area, and walked up a winding path to the grand stairs and entrance.

Through the gate, there was an information area that helped us plan our time at the winery. We went on a Monday to avoid weekend crowds and arrived with no reservation (typical for us). They were kind and asked us questions, answered ours about menu options and off we went to explore with a plan to view movie memorabilia, have lunch at the pool cafe, then enjoy a wine tasting.

The movie memorabilia is two floors around their indoor restaurant and wine tasting room. There are posters, videos, and displays of costumes and props. I had recently reread and rewatched Bram Stoker’s Dracula and was excited to see it as one of the first on display when we walked in. The stories behind filming and the challenges of movies like Apocalypse Now were also on display.

And we were excited to see that Don Corleone’s desk from The Godfather movies was back on display that day! Seeing the vintage car from Tucker on a rotating display with a wine-cellar wall as it’s backdrop and the fresco style chandelier on the second floor had us chattering daydreams of something similar in our ongoing “if we ever have a home/mansion again” conversation and contemplating miniature versions of them.

Next we found a table at the poolside cafe and decided on sharing the patty melt and fries, as well as chips and salsa. They were accommodating with my Celiac, having the bun placed on a separate plate so BJ could have it. We chatted with the staff at the cafe as it was also the poolside bar.

While waiting for our food, we gazed over the beautiful views in each direction–the winery with its Tuscan villa looks, the cabanas around the sparkling blue pool, the bocce ball courts on the far side, and the vineyard, filled with plump grapes set against the mountain backdrop. It felt like something out of a movie, and, yet, there we sat, sipping on ice tea, enjoying the warm sun and stunning views.

Once we finished lunch, we headed inside for the wine tasting, opting for the flavors of the opening credits. Our sommelier guided us through the flavors, process and the story behind the thoughtfully designed labels for each of the four BJ tried. When he decided on a favorite flavor (his second favorite label design), we made our purchase and then wandered the grounds.

Pool cabanas were available to rent so a day could be spent in the water, but it wasn’t on our wish list, or in our budget that day. We enjoyed wandering around the beautiful landscape and architecture, before making a full circle back to the entrance.

We said our thank you’s and goodbye’s to the people we had chatted with, meandered back to the parking area, with a quick stop over to see the vines up close and to try to find the geocache on property (no luck) before heading home.

While the day was higher on the budget than most excursions (food, wine tasting and a bottle of wine for $120 in total), we had expected it to be, but didn’t want to leave wine country without the experience.

With all the ones to choose from, we are glad we chose this one. Now we have a list of movies to watch again, or for the first time, to connect all the things we saw on our visit.

Check out our RESOURCES
Our Travel Planner an easy to carry resource for all your RV needs
Free Printables Page helpful tools and resources for travel and organization
Our Savings Page referral links to savings with brands we love (our links get us referral credit)
Our Travel Map links to blogs for places to see and stay
The Essential Guide to RV Life to prepare, live and transition through RV life (digital & printed)
Amazon Store Amazon products we use or have tested for life, RVing, homeschool and travel
Teachers Pay Teachers Store Store with lessons for learning, in or out of a traditional classroom
About Us Our Story, our WHY, and where to find us

Thanks for being here, we’ll see you out there!