The Zinfadel is produced with fruit located in the Dry Creek Valley appellation where the combination of the climate and the beautiful terroir makes for excellent Zinfandel grapes with an intensely concentrated taste. Half of the grapes are pressed whole and the must is fermented in open-top fermenters for maximum color extraction and flavour. After that, the wine is allowed to stay in a combination of French and American oak, so that as Coppola describes it "the wine gets real shoulders"

In the glass, this Coppola Zinfandel from the Director's Cut series is deep ruby red, as a beautiful Zinfandel should be. In the nose, this zinfandel is a wonderfully powerful, full-bodied wine with ripe scents of fig, raisin, amarene cherries, chocolate and spices. The Director's Cut Zinfandel is luscious full bodied and velvety on the palate. In the mouth, this Coppola is intense and full-bodied with ripe black fruit of dried plum, blackberry, spices, vanilla and a hint of laurel liquorice. A small amount of Petite Syrah has been added to this Zinfandel to give a firmer structure and complexity to the wine.

Francis Ford Coppola (Detroit, April 7, 1939) is an American director, film producer and screenwriter known for The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now and is considered one of the most important directors of Hollywood. In addition, Francis Ford Coppola has been active in viticulture and trade since the 1970s. In 1975, he and his wife bought the estate of Finnish sea captain Gustave Niebaum in Rutherford, California (located in the famed Napa Valley wine region) and surrounding vineyards. That winery is now called the Rubicon Estate Winery. In addition, Coppola also owns the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in the Sonoma Valley.

Winemaking is a longstanding tradition within the Coppola family. Francis Ford Coppola has been making wine longer than directing movies. Grandfather Coppola used to make wine from grapes specially brought over from California in the cellars of their New York apartment. The wines that Coppola makes today are no longer the same as from the New York cellars, but they are made with the same philosophy. Wines to drink with friends and family.

The parent company of the Francis Ford Coppola Winery was named USA Wine Producer of the Year by the International Wine & Spirit Competition on November 16, 2011.