The world’s smallest cinema at the Francis Ford Coppola winery

We are invited at the Francis Ford Coppola winery and we are certainly excited

Splendid! We have received a great invitation for the day. We have to wake up early to drive all the way to Napa Valley. The Francis Ford Coppola Winery invites us for a tour and tasting on the premises. Obviously, we do not have to think twice.

The landscape itself is amazing on the way there. The Napa Valley region reminds me of Tuscany. Once we arrive we do not know where to look. There are movie props everywhere and the winery looks beautiful. I Vitelloni: cinema piccolo obviously blends in perfectly. We receive a warm welcome and are taken on a stroll.

Francis Ford Coppola has been producing wine for years. He does not only excel in producing films, as the wine venture has been growing enormously as well. First, we get a tour around the premises, which is pretty impressive. Coppola tried to involve as many references to film as possible. At the estates we were fortunate to see the car from Tucker: the man and his dream, the desk and fresco from the Godfather, the boats from Marie-Antoinette and many other items.

Afterwards, we get a tasting. It is only noon, so we have to take it easy on the wine. We get to taste many wines but one stands out. This is the 2011 Cinema from the Director’s cut label. The wine itself is exquisite, but the label and name are also interesting. Coppola has named his studio after one of the first ways to watch a moving image, the Zoetrope. We get to see an actual Zoetrope. You can place a kind of paper ribbon with drawings inside the Zoetrope. Once you spin it you can see the drawings transform into a moving image. The label of the wine carries the ribbon and refers to the Zoetrope.

On the way back to San Francisco we missed our exit, because cars would keep pulling up besides us to take pictures of the cinema. In a way that is funny, but not when it keeps on happening and we are seriously delayed.