FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA WINERY GIVES PIZZA LOVERS CHANCE TO WIN A CROSS-COUNTRY PIZZA & WINE TASTING TOUR BY PRIVATE JET

New Grand Prize for Winery's Annual "Perfect Your Pizza" Contest Offers a Pie-In-the-Sky Pilgrimage to Top U.S. Pizzerias

GEYSERVILLE, Calif., July 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pizza fanatics have a new dream trip to covet: Francis Ford Coppola Winery, the iconic Sonoma County estate behind the award-winning "Diamond Collection" wine brand, announced today that it will offer a private plane tour of legendary U.S. pizzerias to the winner of its annual "Perfect Your Pizza" competition.

Entries open today for the contest, which invites pizza lovers to submit an original pizza recipe and wine pairing for the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime private tour of top pizza purveyors in New York City and Chicago, or $25,000 cash.

Now in its fourth year, Francis Ford Coppola Winery's "Perfect Your Pizza" competition has become a compelling draw for pizzaiolos and wine lovers nationwide. Each year, hundreds of passionate contestants submit their best original pizza recipes and Coppola wine pairings in hopes of earning pizza-and-wine pairing supremacy.

For 2025, Coppola is taking it to the skies, offering one lucky winner and their guest an expenses-paid culinary adventure starting in New York City, where they'll tour the city's top pizzerias with world-famous pizza historian and judge Scott Wiener, of Scott's Pizza Tours. From there, they'll hop aboard a private plane to Chicago for a pizza tour with James Beard Award™-winning food journalist and pizza guru Steve Dolinsky, founder of Pizza City Fest. The trip will include VIP access to legendary pizza destinations in each city as well as behind-the-scenes wine and pizza tastings, affording the winner a deeper understanding of America's most iconic pizzas and the wines that pair best with them.¹

Four finalists and their guests will receive an expenses-paid trip to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Sonoma County, California this October to compete in a live cook-off for the Grand Prize before a panel of experts. Judges include Coppola winemaker Andrea Card and "Perfect Your Pizza" Chief Judge Dan Richer, a globally recognized pizza master, James Beard Award^™ finalist and the author of New York Times-best-selling cookbook, The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need to Know.

"Pizza was an integral part of Francis Coppola's vision for his winery from its beginnings," noted Gabriela Becker, vice president of marketing for Francis Ford Coppola Winery. "We're excited for a fourth year of exploring and perfecting the pairing possibilities of pizza and wine, and of celebrating what great pizzas and great wine have in common: the ability to bring pleasure and connection through authenticity and craft."

Submissions for "Perfect Your Pizza" are open July 1- August 31, 2025. Contestants may enter by visiting https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com/perfect-your-pizza/ and providing their original recipe, a Coppola wine pairing and story inspiration for their creation. For complete rules, see Diamond-Perfect-Your-Pizza-Contest-Official-Rules-2025.pdf.

About Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Rooted in Sonoma County, California, Francis Ford Coppola Winery is known for its superior level of quality and integrity. Francis Ford Coppola Winery offers award-winning wines crafted from premiere appellations across California at its Certified California Sustainable winery in Geyserville, Sonoma County. The globally recognized Coppola portfolio includes Diamond Collection, the U.S.'s fifth-largest super-premium wine brand, as well as Sofia sparkling cuvées and Francis Coppola Reserve wines. The estate offers unique tasting experiences and seasonal events, culinary delights from Rustic restaurant, two swimming pools and a vast collection of cinematic memorabilia. Francis Ford Coppola Winery is a proud part of Delicato Family Wines, a family-owned winery based in Napa Valley, California founded in 1924.

About Dan Richer
Legendary pizza master Dan Richer is the chef and owner of Jersey City's Razza, the only pizza restaurant in the U.S. that The New York Times has awarded three stars. A six-time James Beard Award™ nominee, Richer is the author of the bestselling cookbook, The Joy of Pizza—Everything You Need to Know, and serves as Chief Judge in Francis Ford Coppola Winery's "Perfect Your Pizza" contest, now in its fourth year. In 2023, Richer was named Pizza Maker of the Year by Italy's 50TopPizza, a global authority on the world's most accomplished artisan pizzaiolos and their restaurants.

About Scott's Pizza Tours
Scott Wiener is a global authority on pizza serves as a judge of top pizza industry competitions, an instructor at Pizza University, and a consultant. His is a monthly columnist for Pizza Today magazine, the host of Thrillist's "Really Dough", and has been featured on national television and as a contributor to Serious Eats. Scott's writing and pizza tour company, Scott's Pizza Tours, have been featured in media such as The New York Times, O The Oprah Magazine and Viceland. He is the author of Viva La Pizza! The Art of the Pizza Box (2013) and holds the Guinness World Record for his collection of more than 2,000 pizza boxes.

About Steve Dolinsky and Pizza City USA
Steve Dolinsky has won 13 James Beard Awards™ for his food reporting on TV, radio and podcast. He is the author of two books on pizza, including "The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide". He's the founder of Pizza City Tours and Pizza City Fest, which has produced events in Los Angeles, Nashville and Chicago.

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¹ Total value of Grand Prize shall not exceed $25,000

SOURCE Francis Ford Coppola Winery