Inglenook is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

that produces estate bottled wines in

Rutherford, California Rutherford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 164 at the 2010 census. Rutherford is located in the Rutherford AVA (American Viticultural Area) which is located in the larger Napa Vall ...

, in the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

History

The

was founded in 1879 by a Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum. Niebaum's employee Hamden McIntyre was not an architect but he designed gravity flow wineries for Inglenook and Far Niente along with other wineries of the decade. Niebaum died in 1908 and the winery was shut down during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. Upon

repeal of Prohibition The repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Background In 1919, the requisite number of state legislatures ratified the Eig ...

, Niebaum's widow, Suzanne Niebaum, reopened Inglenook and brought in a

viticulturist Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

and an

enologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

to upgrade the winemaking system. Niebaum's great-nephew, John Daniel Jr., took over operations in 1939 and it flourished during the 1940s and 1950s until it was sold to Allied Grape Growers in 1964. Chiles House

More than of the property were acquired by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

in 1975 with profits of his film, ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

''. The brand name and the remaining 94 acres (38 ha), including the historic winery, were bought by

Heublein, Inc. Heublein Inc. (also known as Heublein Spirits) was an American producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and food throughout the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s its stock was regarded as one of the most stable financial investments, ...

, which began making lower quality wines produced elsewhere under the Inglenook label. Under the leadership of Dennis Fife, Inglenook again began producing critically acclaimed wines. Heublin was later bought by RJR Nabisco, then sold to

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

in 1987. Heublein sold the winery to the Canandaigua Wine Company (which later became

Constellation Brands Constellation Brands, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is an American producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits. Constellation is the largest beer import company in the US, measured by sales, and has the third-largest market share (7.4 percen ...

) in 1994. Canandaigua consolidated winemaking operations elsewhere and sold the remaining acreage and winery to Coppola in 1995. In the French tradition, Coppola combined his name with the original owner, naming the facility Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery. Coppola later renamed it the

Rubicon Estate Winery The Rubicon Estate Winery (formerly Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery and once again Inglenook) is located in Rutherford, California, United States. The winery sits on a portion of the historic Napa Valley property first acquired in 1879 by a Finni ...

. In January 2008,

The Wine Group The Wine Group is an American alcoholic beverage company founded in 1981, and based in Livermore, California. Products It produces wine brands including Franzia, Cupcake Vineyards, Benziger Family Winery, Chloe Wine Collection, 7 Deadly Wines, I ...

announced that it would purchase

Almaden Vineyards Almaden Vineyards, historically written as Almadén Vineyards, is a Californian winery. Founded in 1852, it is the oldest commercial winery in California. Originally located and established in Almaden Valley, San Jose, the winery has since mov ...

, the Inglenook label, and the Paul Masson Winery in

Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Wood") is a city and county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, California. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 66,224. Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Madera i ...

from Constellation Brands for $134 million in cash. On April 11, 2011, Francis Ford Coppola acquired the iconic Inglenook trademark, paying more, he said, than he had for the entire estate and announced that the estate would once again be known by its historic name, Inglenook.

References

External links

*
Article detailing construction of Inglenook's cellar

Coppola: The Great Wine Auteur
{{Francis Ford Coppola Wineries in Napa Valley Francis Ford Coppola Companies based in Napa County, California Companies established in 1879 1879 establishments in California Food and drink companies established in 1879

History

See also

References

External links