Director's Cut Zinfandel 2007 -- $24.00 --   Recommended by Peter Gianotti of New York NEWSDAY as a "very good wine deal". Dry Creek Valley There are two methodologies for growing Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley. One consists of traditional farming practices, which includes the dry-farming of head-trained, spur-pruned vines, that are quite mature and severely thinned in the spring to produce low yields. The other employs more modern methods, including bilateral cordon, spur-pruned on-wire trellising, drop irrigation, and carefully manicured canopies. We source our Zinfandel grapes from vineyards on the benchlands and hillsides, which are farmed both ways. The combination of the area’s climate, our vineyard sites, and the two types of the farming methods used produces excellent fruit with intensely concentrated flavor. Vintage profile The 2007 vintage was a winemaker’s dream, and, quite possibly, the vintage of a lifetime. An unusually dry winter gave way to a warm , dry spring, which significantly reduced the crop size. . . .
Buy Now

Director's Cut Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 -- $29.00 -- Recent Accolades for the previous vintage:Wine & Spirits gave 91 pointsDouble Gold - San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition"Best of Class" - Los Angeles International Wine Competition “Winemaking and filmmaking are two great art forms that are very important in the development of California. They both start with raw ingredients—in the case of wine, the land and the grapes, and in the case of film, the script and the actors’ performances. The winemaker takes these raw materials and ferments and blends. He says yes to one batch, no to another. The director does the same thing: a series of yeses and noes, from casting and costuming to edits and sound mixes. In both cases you have to start with top notch raw materials—whether it’s the land or a script.” -Francis Ford CoppolaIn the film business, the “Director’s Cut” emerged as a means for filmmakers to present their own creative vision, when the final version of a film released by the studio differed from what the director had intended. . . .
Buy Now

Director's Cut Chardonnay 2008 -- $21.00 -- Hear what winemaker Corey Beck has to say about the Director's Cut Chardonnay! Click here for a video clip. The Chardonnay is 100% Russian River Valley, an area shaped by a regular intrusion of cooling fog from the Pacific Ocean a few miles to the west. This cools the valley down from its daytime high temperatures by as much as 35 to 40 degrees, allowing Chardonnay grapes to develop full flavor maturity over an extended growing season—often 15 to 20 percent longer than neighboring areas—while retaining their all-important natural acidity. 100% barrel fermented. We crush our Russian River Chardonnay whole-cluster and then ferment entirely in French oak barrels to achieve a silky, seductive texture. This vintage offers profuse aromatics of honeysuckle, baked pineapple, exotic spices and vanilla crème, as well as tightly focused flavors of pear, green apple, lemon and passion fruit, all beautifully layered upon a full-bodied palate. 12 months in 50% new French oak, 50%1-2 year old oak; 100% . . .
Buy Now

Francis Coppola Diamond Chardonnay -- $16.00 -- What is the profile of our Diamond Chardonnay? Click here to hear what winemaker Corey Beck has to say. Winemaker’s NotesWe source our Chardonnay grapes from two distinct vineyards in Monterey. One is located near the Gabilan mountain range where the soil composition is predominantly loamy sand. This condition offers ideal drainage, which then concentrates the flavors of the fruit. The other vineyard, located in the Arroyo Seco, is positioned on the valley floor where the temperatures remain relatively cool. As a result, the fruit from this region maintains a crisp acidity. When we blend the wine from these two regions together, we achieve a lovely balance and greater complexity.To craft our Chardonnay, we use a whole-cluster press and split fermentation technique where half of the fruit is fermented in French oak, and the other half is fermented in stainless steel. Additionally, we put the wine that was fermented in wood through malolactic fermentation in order to achieve a lightly creamy . . .
Buy Now

Francis Coppola Diamond Merlot -- $20.00 -- Why does winemaker Corey Beck add Syrah to our Diamond Merlot? Click here to find out. With Merlot, the objective is to create a wine that has structure and complexity, but soft, smooth tannins. We find that sourcing fruit from several different appellations works best to give us a Merlot that exudes multiple layers of flavor and a nice seductive texture. We also blend in small amounts of Syrah and Petite Sirah to achieve a richer color.Grapes that come from Napa provide weight, sweet fruit flavors and the intense aromatics of fresh berries while the Sonoma fruit contributes natural acidity to create more balance and finesse. Monterey County grapes provide concentration; a result of the well-drained sandy loam soils that characterize the region. Endowed with great concentration, a seductive texture, and sweet fruit impressions, this wine boasts provocative notes of toasty vanilla imparted by French oak barrel aging. Tasting ProfileAppearance: Dark magentaAromas: Blueberries, cherries, . . .
Buy Now