When you are thinking about unique wineries in Sonoma, what experiences, attractions and activities are coming to mind right away? How does a mixture of Hollywood movies museum and a mini resort on a winery’s premises sound for a unique experience?
All the above you can find at Francis Ford Coppola winery, which is one of the most unique wineries in Sonoma County. As the name suggests, the winery is owned by the renowned Hollywood producer, Francis Ford Coppola and his wife Eleanor.
Francis Ford Coppola winery occupies a huge territory in Geyserville, Sonoma. Part of this territory consists of what I call a “mini resort”, which you can come and enjoy for a whole day. The facilities include a good size pool with a pool deck, lounge chairs, and cabanas.
You have two options:
- purchase just a Pool Pass on site for a day for each person (adult pool pass costs $40, kids pass – $25), which includes just the use of the pool and chairs on the lawn OR
- reserve a Cabin Package for 4 people for $185-210 depending on the day of the week, which include a cabin, pool access and 4 lounge chairs on the pool deck.
There are also games for everybody to enjoy: four bocce ball courts and several game tables for classic card and board games such as backgammon, chess and checkers. Best of all, bocce and all board games are available to use free of charge all day long.
You may ask why create a resort out of a winery? We were told at Francis Ford Coppola winery that the owner always wanted his winery experience to be a family affair. He actually likes kids playing around and enjoying the pool, families getting together and spending a lovely time with each other.
Another feature that makes Francis Ford Coppola winery one of the most unique wineries in Sonoma is Hollywood Movies Gallery. As you know, Mr. Coppola is a producer of many famous movies. You can see many cool displays of various movie props, photos from movie sets, and other memorabilia inside the main winery building.
Here you can spot Don Corleone’s office desk from “Godfather”, Dracula’s costume, the famous car from “Tucker: the Man and his Dream”, cool trinkets from “Apocalypse Now” and much more. All five of Francis Ford Coppola Oscars are on display too.
And of course, there is also a tradition winery experiences waiting for you: wine tasting and winery tours.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery has two dining options on site, which also contributes to it being one of the unique wineries in Sonoma. It is very rare that a winery has a full size restaurant with an extensive menu. “Rustic Francis’s Favorites” is a full service restaurant that serves predominantly Italian dishes but also some with international flavor which you can order off a menu. On Tuesdays though, the dinner is served “prix fixe” style where you pay a set price for the full meal and the chef sends certain dishes your way that he/she cooked for the day.
One thing I have to mention about “Rustic” is that though the food is good the service is not that great. When we visited the restaurant was pretty empty, there was no line of people waiting but we were still asked to wait 20 minutes before we could be seated without any intelligent explanation of why. I am hoping Francis Ford Coppola winery’s management sees this review and address the issue. It is a shame really, since visiting this particular winery could be such a great experience if not for this hiccup.
If you are not in the mood for waiting 20 minutes for no reason you can have a meal at the pool café between 11 am and 6 pm (a pool pass is not required to visit the café). This is also a place to order drinks while you are enjoying the pool.
Finally, Francis Ford Coppola winery is truly on of the most unique wineries in Sonoma because it hosts a variety of family events throughout the year, some of them are just for kids. Can you imagine a kids Halloween party at a winery? Now you can! And not just imagine but actually experience it at Francis Ford Coppola’s.
Are you wondering if you can actually see the one and only Francis Ford Coppola at his own winery? We were told that you can! From time to time he visits the place with his family for a dinner or an event. Apparently, just the day before we visited he came by for dinner and participated in a scavenger hunt with all the kids.
Whenever you decide to visit Francis Ford Coppola winery your experience is definitely going to be unique and unforgettable.
If you would like to learn more about other family friendly wineries in Sonoma County, please, check out my post Kid Friendly Wineries in Sonoma
If you are looking for unique wineries in Napa, I suggest checking out my Napa Valley 1 Day trip itinerary. It includes family friendly wineries and some amazing experiences.
If you are willing to travel a little further to California Central Coast, definitely check out Kid Friendly Wineries in Paso Robles.
If you found this information about unique wineries in Sonoma useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
IMPORTANT NOTE: At the date of the initial publication of this article, Kincaid wildfire was located in close proximity to Francis Ford Coppola winery. Now as of November 10, 2019 the fire is extinguished and life goes back to normal. Luckily, Francis Ford Coppola Winery was NOT affected by the fire.
