Gia Coppola, the scion of the filmmaking and winemaking family, has had quite the year. Her writing and directorial feature film debut, Palo Alto (based on short stories by pal James Franco), was released in May. At the same time, she also launched her new wine brand, “Gia by Gia Coppola,” featuring three varietals: a Frizzante Chardonnay, a Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir.
This Coppola—granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola’s niece—is just 27 years old.
Her youth belies the fact that she’s been involved with the family’s Northern California winery for the past decade, and that in 2012, she decided that she wanted more than just a seat on the board of her grandfather’s Francis Ford Coppola Presents businesses. She collaborated with Francis and a winemaking team, led by Corey Beck, to develop wines to reflect her own taste and personality. She also wanted to make sure that the wines were affordable for most budgets; all three retail for $17 a bottle.
Last week in Los Angeles at the official Gia release party, we had a few minutes to catch up with the multi-hyphenate photographer-filmmaker-artist, and now vintner, to talk about her wines, her family, filmmaking and Kanye West. Coppola candidly admitted that while she’s still a wine novitiate, she has a pretty good role model in “grandpa” Francis (who was in attendance at the chic event to support his protégé).
Paste: How did you decide on these three particular wines?
Gia Coppola: I worked with Corey Beck, who’s the winemaker in Sonoma, and I just knew I wanted wines that would appeal to my age group—the kind of lighter wines. I generally do like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio, but I’m still learning so I’m still gauging what I like and what I dislike.
Paste: Did you seek any advice from your family when developing this line?
GC:A lot [from] my grandpa…It was intimidating, but you know my grandpa said, ‘View it as if you’re making your movie. There all the different departments, and take it step-by-step. It’s a collaboration.’
I guess in the end, you just stay true to yourself, and what it is that you like and what you respond to. I know I wanted something targeted to my age group. My friends, when they go to buy wine, they look at the price tag first. I wanted to make a delicious wine, but not too expensive.
Paste: How hands-on were you in the process?
GC:I was very involved in the design aspect. It’s my name, and so I wanted to make sure that I’m being truthful…The design approach was so new to me, so I was always asking my mom, ‘What do you think about this?’