Francis Ford Coppola Winery to be acquired by Napa-based Delicato Family Wines

Francis Ford Coppola Winery of Geyserville, one of Sonoma County’s most popular tourist destinations that’s known for its innovative premium wines and famous founder, has been sold to Napa-based Delicato Family Wines.

The Coppola wine portfolio and its two facilities in Sonoma County, the Coppola winery and the Virginia Dare Winery, along with its Archimedes Vineyard, will join Delicato’s portfolio. Coppola, the Academy Award-winning director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” will receive an equity stake in Delicato and join the company’s board of directors as part of the deal.

“I have found the perfect fit to take our family winery to even greater heights,” Coppola, 82, said in a statement. “Delicato is also family-owned and shares similar core values as both companies are anchored by long-term sustainable focus and a foundation built on family values: integrity, respect, quality, accountability, partnership, excellence, and community.”

Financial terms of the deal, which bolsters the portfolio of one of the top 10 suppliers of wine in the US, were not disclosed.

A wine industry analyst who asked not to be named placed the deal at less than $1 billion but added that it would be hard to put a good estimate on the value of the transaction without knowing more about the equity stake Coppola received from privately held Delicato, noting it was an unusual arrangement.

The deal is expected to close within a month, subject to regulatory approval. There was no comment Wednesday on the possibility of job loss or consolidation as the companies merge assets. Coppola employs 380 workers, while Delicato has a workforce of about 800.

Coppola and his wife, Eleanor, will still retain his Inglenook estate in Napa County and Domaine de Broglie winery in Oregon.

Coppola’s impact on Sonoma County extends beyond his wines, with the Geyserville winery and its signature pool and collection of movie memorabilia serving to draw in tourists as well as locals.

“Their (the family’s) impact on the Sonoma County wine brand has been immense because of their exposure all over the nation and world. Their impact on tourism has been large with people coming to visit,” said Michael Haney, executive director of the Sonoma County Vintners trade group. “There’s also their impact on food and wine. We all know Francis and the team are big into that.”

The sale culminates a less heralded but storied career in the wine industry for Coppola that started when he bought the Gustave Niebaum vineyard in Napa County in 1975, coming off the success of “The Godfather” and “Godfather Part II.” The 1,560 acres were part of the historic Inglenook winery estate. Coppola would later buy the rest of Inglenook estate and winery in 1995 and in 2011 he bought the Inglenook trademark from the Wine Group.

Coppola continued to grow his wine business with its Diamond label and Rosso and Bianco brands and made his biggest splash in 2006 when he purchased the Chateau Souverain Winery just west of Highway 101 in Geyserville from Foster’s Corp.

The distinctive French chateau-style winery that was built in 1972 gave Coppola a home base to expand his portfolio, along with the 25 acres of vineyards and a restaurant, tasting room and packaging facility. He put in place the popular Rustic, a full-service restaurant that features traditional Italian dishes.

Outside the food and wine, the estate became a tourist draw featuring Coppola’s movie memorabilia, including the car from “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” and a whole wall dedicated to “Apocalypse Now.” Its Olympic-sized swimming pool and lounge areas became a must-visit a place in the summer.

The tourism aided wine sales. The wine business grew in the premium market through its popular Diamond label. The company pioneered canned wine in 2004 with Sofia, a brand of sparkling wine in a 187-milliliter can named for Coppola’s daughter.

Coppola had been approached in recent years about the future of his winery and whether he would want to sell it, said Corey Beck, chief executive of the winery operations. Coppola's two children, Roman and Sofia, have successful careers in the movie business and are seen as likely to be less hands-on with wine than their father.

“He just wants to make sure the company is well positioned down the road,” Beck said. “What Francis wanted to do with this is to have some freedom now to do some things, but yet leave a portion of it for future generations.”

Coppola has bought grapes and bulk wine from Delicato Family Wines for more than 20 years to source for its wine including the Diamond label, Beck said. “They know our brand better than anybody,” he said. “This is really two great families getting together to share a common goal.”

Beck will stay on and become executive vice president and chief winemaker for Delicato. He added no major changes for Coppola customers will be forthcoming.

“I said to my team this morning that Francis is still going to be walking through the kitchen to make sure the pizza dough is still perfect,” Beck said. Chris Indelicato will retain his position as president and chief executive officer of Delicato.

Delicato was ranked as the fifth-largest wine producer in the country last year, producing 16 million cases, according to Wine Business Monthly magazine. The company’s growth has been led by Bota Box, the affordable boxed wine that has become the fastest-growing brand in any wine segment. It has more than 50 brands that include Three Finger Jack and Z. Alexander Brown and more than 4,000 vineyard acres. By contrast, Coppola was ranked 17th at 1.7 million cases in 2020.

“This is a good strategic move for both of them,” said Jon Moramarco, managing partner of wine industry consulting group bw166.

Delicato will get a new product in the prized premium market from Coppola at the $15 a bottle and above category. The Diamond brands and others will get more leverage under Delicato, with the ability to reach more customers via wholesalers and major retailers, Moramarco said.

The sale comes at a time of when the wine sector has seen a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. E. & J. Gallo Winery closed a blockbuster $810 million deal with Constellation Brands in January. That was followed by The Duckhorn Portfolio of St. Helena and Vintage Wine Estates of Santa Rosa both becoming publicly traded companies this spring.

Moramarco said he expects more consolidation.

“Whenever you have big transactions taking place, it tends to make people stop and think and say, ‘Should I be doing something,’” he said.

J.P. Morgan Securities served as an adviser to Coppola on the sale.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.