The last couple of days we visited Francis Ford Coppola’s Winery for tasting and a look at movie memorabilia as well as made another trip to Bodega Head to enjoy the ocean. Coppola’s vineyard is just a few minutes north of our condo and we received a complimentary tasting with our condo. Why not take advantage of it?
The Coppola Winery includes a reservations-only swimming pool. Your reservation includes a private cabana, reserved lounge chairs, and umbrellas. There is a pool-side cafe that delivers to your chair. We were crushed that it was fully reserved for the day. (Not really.) There are bocci courts (free), Coppola movie memorabilia (free), a fine dining restaurant, a full bar, a cigar store, and (of course) a tasting room.
His Oscars are on display (I’ll bet they are copies). There’s a large display of artifacts from Apocalypse Now in the tasting room that can really put off one’s appetite. The bamboo cage and accompanying video were particularly frightening. The Godfather‘s desk is there along with many stills and artifacts from the movie…no horse’s head. The ships used in Sophia Coppola‘s Marie Antoinette are on display. These 15 foot replicas were sailed in the Versaille fountain pond at night with charges loaded in their tiny cannon to depict the night naval battle.
On to the tasting room. Coppola makes dozens of different wines from basic red and white varietals, European style blends, sweet dessert wines, and even a powerful grappa. Everyone can sample the Rosso & Blanco wines. These are blended table wines. Our complimentary tasting gave us the Family Tasting of 4 of their premium wines. After our tasting we bought a Diamond Collection Chardonnay, a Su Yuen red blend, and a Late Harvest Semillon.
Yesterday we returned to Bodega Head. The fog was thick, but breaking when we arrived at Noon. We settled into our chairs and watched it break up. There were lots of opportunities to photograph birds, read, and take a nap. By 2:30 it was clear and time for a hike. We hiked north on the cliffs, which we had never done before. A short way up the cliff we encountered a herd of deer. Flowers and birds filled the hike with lots of memories and photographs.
Paul
Travels With Picasso 