Francis Ford Coppola thought he’d seen everything in his legendary career.
But the famous director just cooked up something that has pizza fanatics across America scrambling to their kitchens.
And this Hollywood elite just launched one contest that will leave pizza lovers drooling.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery offers private jet pizza tour
The man behind The Godfather trilogy isn’t content with just making movies and wine anymore.¹
Francis Ford Coppola Winery announced their annual "Perfect Your Pizza" competition is back for its fourth year, and this time they’re taking things to a whole new level.
The grand prize winner gets an expenses-paid private jet tour of America’s most legendary pizzerias in New York City and Chicago.
That’s right – a private plane just to eat pizza and drink wine.
Most contests offer cash or maybe a weekend getaway.
But Coppola’s winery is literally flying the winner around the country to sample the best pizza joints with world-famous experts.
The winner and their guest start in New York City, where they’ll tour top pizzerias with Scott Wiener from Scott’s Pizza Tours – a guy who holds the Guinness World Record for collecting over 2,000 pizza boxes.¹
Then they hop on that private jet to Chicago for a pizza tour with James Beard Award-winning food journalist Steve Dolinsky, who founded Pizza City Fest.¹
What pizza lovers need to do to win
Here’s where it gets interesting for anyone who thinks they can make a killer pie.
Contest entries opened on July 1 and run through August 31.¹
Pizza makers need to submit an original recipe along with a wine pairing from Coppola’s collection.
Four finalists get flown to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Sonoma County, California for a live cook-off in October.¹
The judges include globally recognized pizza master Dan Richer, who owns Razza – the only pizza restaurant in America that The New York Times gave three stars.¹
This six-time James Beard Award nominee was named Pizza Maker of the Year in 2023 by Italy’s 50TopPizza, so this guy knows his stuff.¹
The competition also features Coppola winemaker Andrea Card, who’ll judge how well contestants pair their pizza creations with the winery’s award-winning wines.¹
Why this contest matters for everyday Americans
Pizza was part of Francis Coppola’s vision for his winery from the very beginning, according to Gabriela Becker, the winery’s vice president of marketing.¹
"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," Becker stated.¹
But there’s something bigger happening here that most people won’t notice.
While Hollywood elites and wealthy winery owners are throwing around private jet trips like party favors, regular Americans are still dealing with sky-high grocery prices and inflation that makes dining out a luxury.
The contrast couldn’t be more stark.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery is part of Delicato Family Wines, which has been around since 1924 and clearly has money to burn on elaborate marketing stunts.¹
Their Diamond Collection is already the fifth-largest super-premium wine brand in the country.¹
The bigger picture behind the glitz
Don’t get it wrong – there’s nothing inherently bad about a pizza contest or wine pairings.
Americans love both pizza and competition, and this contest celebrates genuine culinary creativity.
But the timing feels tone-deaf when working families are choosing between filling up their gas tanks or ordering a pizza for Friday night dinner.
A private jet tour of pizzerias sounds like something out of a different world from the one most Americans are living in right now.
The contest rules are available at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery website for anyone interested in entering.¹
Winners who don’t want the private jet experience can opt for $25,000 cash instead.¹
That cash option tells you everything about who this contest is really designed for – people wealthy enough that $25,000 isn’t life-changing money.
For most American families, twenty-five grand would pay off credit cards, cover a down payment on a car, or handle a year’s worth of groceries.
But hey, if someone’s got a secret pizza recipe and wants to take a shot at flying around the country eating pizza with Hollywood money, more power to them.
Just remember that while some folks are getting private jet pizza tours, the rest of us are still dealing with the economic mess that Washington, D.C. politicians created over the past few years.
¹ Francis Ford Coppola Winery. "Francis Ford Coppola Winery Gives Pizza Lovers Chance to Win a Cross-Country Pizza & Wine Tasting Tour by Private Jet." PR Newswire, July 1, 2025.
