Francis Ford Coppola

Swimming at Francis Ford Coppola

by
Swimming at Francis Ford Coppola

Swimming at Francis Ford Coppola Yes, it is possible to go swimming at Francis Ford Coppola winery. Taste wine, eat lunch, play Bocce, and swim; all can be done at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville. The winery has it all for the family and the swimming pool is now open until September 27, … Read more

Wine Country Bocce Party

by

How to plan a wine country Bocce party As we swing into the tourist season in wine country and you plan your next wine country getaway with your friends, think about playing a game or two of Bocce at a winery. This is exactly what we have done once a year for the past ten … Read more

A Day in Rutherford’s Dust

by

This past week we had the good fortune to participate in the Rutherford Dust Society’s annual wine tasting “A Day in the Dust” at the historic Rubicon Estate Winery in the Napa Valley. It was a wonderful tasting followed by a gourmet luncheon in the historic barrel room, complete with a surprise visit from the man himself, owner of Rubicon Estate Francis Ford Coppola. We tasted 22 wines in two flights of eleven each. The wines were all 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet blends from the Rutherford AVA.

The renowned winemaker André Tchelistcheff , who years ago branded the term “Dust,” said: “It takes Rutherford dust to grow great Cabernet.” Some people think that wines from this region have a unique soil characteristic that can be tasted in the wines. I have never been able to ascertain that taste, but what I do know about these wines is that they are wonderfully-balanced Cabernet Sauvignon wines to be enjoyed now, or to be aged in order to gain even further perfection.

Read more

Inglenook Winery Comes Full Circle

by

I remember, on one of my first trips to the Napa Valley in the late 1960’s, driving down the entrance lane to visit the Inglenook Winery. I was mesmerized by the beauty and majesty of the Inglenook Chateau. At that time, the winery was in the hands of the Allied Grape Growers. When the legendary John Daniel Jr. sold Inglenook in 1964, the mystifying sale resonated throughout the Valley. I also remember entering the Chateau and browsing in a wine room to the right of the entrance doors. In the room, Allied was selling old bottles of the Inglenook wines. John Daniel Jr. made those wines and the Cabernet Sauvignon was renowned throughout the world. The Allied takeover sent the winery in the opposite direction, and since that time the name has been associated with plain and simple jug wine.

Read more