In addition, wine tasting is available for $7.50 (includes four wines) in the wine bar and boutique. The tour concludes with a tasting of four Niebaum-Coppola wines, with bread and brie to nosh on. Passing olive trees on the way out of the bottling room, the guided tour then climbs a small knoll to look out over the vineyards. The room is no longer used for bottling, but for entertaining. For those who opt for the $20 historical tour, the original bottling room - with its massive redwood casks - is the next stop. The second floor is filled with Coppola's Oscars and film awards as well as props from his films.Īll of this sightseeing is available for free.
![coppola wine tour napa coppola wine tour napa](https://www.winetrain.com/content/uploads/2019/04/Inglenook-TastingRoom-1800x1200.jpeg)
#Coppola wine tour napa movie
In the middle of the page in faded ink, one can make out " Jean Harlow and Clark Gable of Hollywood, California."ĭon't miss the restored original tasting room of the 19th century estate, also on the first floor.Īfter climbing the intricately carved hardwood staircase, visitors enter a museum of movie memorabilia. Exhibited here are the prize medals that Inglenook wines won in the Paris Exposition of 1889, along with estate guest logs from the 1930s. The rest of the first-floor foyer is devoted to the history of the Inglenook estate and the Niebaum wines under that name. All are devoted to creating the impression of a moving image, and both the images and the machines are on display.Īlso on display is a history of the Coppola family, including a detailed family tree and family photos - such as the one of Nicolas Cage (Coppola's nephew) receiving an Oscar for his performance in "Leaving Las Vegas." Also exhibited are pages from Coppola's boyhood notebooks and other ephemera from his youth. Those 19th century mechanisms include the stereoscope, zoetrope and praxinoscope. Among them is a display of the precursors to the movie camera. Then, they walk into the grandiose foyer of the main building, where the exhibits begin. Before entering the 1880 chateau - built with stone quarried from the hillside by Chinese laborers - visitors pass through a courtyard with fountains, pools and park benches modeled after Paris' Luxembourg Gardens.
![coppola wine tour napa coppola wine tour napa](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e6/b6/00/e6b6007a487ce7f877c8d41e6ffbd1f5--francis-ford-coppola-sonoma-county.jpg)
When the rest of the Inglenook property went up for sale in 1995, Coppola seized the opportunity to reunite all 1,560 acres of Gustav Niebaum's original estate while expanding his own business.įrom top to bottom, the estate is drenched in historical luxury. Then the taste caught on, and in 1978 Coppola launched the winery as a business. For a few years he ran a home operation, making wine for friends and family. "We seemed to have desirable grapes that people wanted, so I thought we'd make a little wine of our own," Coppola said.
![coppola wine tour napa coppola wine tour napa](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/86/d7/0f/86d70f04cb74ef565bb0af3eb9b9bf29.jpg)
The Coppolas used profits from the first two "Godfather" movies to buy a house on the Inglenook property and about 100 acres of vines. The brand name had been tarnished, the property divided and the chateau was in disrepair. Inglenook had been taken over by a large conglomerate more interested in making cheap jug wine with grapes from the Central Valley than in continuing its tradition of making fine wines. In the mid-1970s, he and his wife, Eleanor, were looking for a peaceful place to settle down with their children, and the Inglenook estate was up for grabs.
![coppola wine tour napa coppola wine tour napa](http://www.davestravelcorner.com/wp-blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Antinori-Winery-Tuscany-5.jpg)
"Originally I was looking for a summer house in the Napa Valley with a few acres of grapes," says Coppola when asked why he bought the Inglenook estate. With museumlike exhibits and guided tours of the estate, a visit is fascinating, even before the first sip of wine. Visitors come from around the world to taste the wine, but an afternoon on the estate offers a lot more than just a lesson in viticulture. The Oscar-winning director purchased a part of the property in 1975, and the rest in 1995, establishing the Niebaum-Coppola winery.