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Inglenook Winery

The origin of this historic winery in Rutherford in California's Napa Valley lies in 1879, when the Finnish Captain Gustave Niebaum (1842-1908) founded the "Inglenook Winery" (Inglenook = chimney corner). He had a beautiful Victorian-style castle built. After closing down during the American Prohibition (1920-1933), the winery was reactivated by the widow Suzanne Niebaum. In 1939, the estate was taken over by the founder's great-nephew John Daniel, whose 1940 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage was apostrophised as the best in California at the time. In 1975, the US director Francis Ford Coppola and his wife Eleanor acquired around 600 hectares of land with the considerable profits from his multi-part cult film "The Godfather". The brand name "Inglenook", on the other hand, the winery and 40 hectares of vineyards were bought by the beverage company Heublein, which produced mass-produced wines under this label.

Inglenook Winery im 19. Jahrhundert

The "Inglenook" brand

After several changes of ownership, the "Inglenook" brand was owned by the beverage multinational Constellation Brands from 1994 and by Wine Group from 2008. Under this name, large quantities of so-called Value brands or Fighting Varietals (inexpensive wines of good quality) were produced. The wide range includes single-varietal wines and cuvées of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Zinfandel. Inglenook was one of the five most successful US wine brands designated as GAMIT. Due to the sale of the name "Inglenook" to Coppola in 2011 (see below), Wine Group produces these wines under a different brand name.

Niebaum-Coppola" Winery

Coppola named the property "Niebaum-Coppola" and took 20 years to buy back the historic vineyards and re-establish it as a winery. In the 1980s, the well-known consultant David Abreu was responsible for the vineyard management. It was not until 1995 that the castle, the historic winery and vineyards were also acquired. The aim was to make "the best Californian wine in the Bordeaux style, which you should still be able to drink in a hundred years' time"..

Rubicon Estate Winery".

From 1978 onwards, the cult wine "Rubicon" was produced, a red wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot (not to be confused with the "Rubicon" of the South African Meerlust Estate ). Only the very best selected grape material is used for the wine. The red wine matures for three years in French oak and two years in the bottle before it is bottled. It is characterised by a deep dark, almost black colour and a bouquet of mint. This wine then gave the winery its new name "Rubicon Estate Winery" in 2006.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery - Niebaum-Coppola Winery

Inglenook Winery".

In April 2011, Coppola announced that he had acquired the brand name "Inglenook" from the Wine Group. This is the sole right for use as a winery name. It is now called "Inglenook Winery" again instead of "Rubicon Estate Winery". No wine named "Inglenook" is produced from the Coppola winery. The flagship "Rubicon" continues to be called that. The financial terms were not disclosed. The famous winemaker Philippe Bascaules (21 years at Château Margaux) was hired as estate manager and winemaker. Scott McLeod, who had been in charge before, retired in 2010. The coup was called the "rebirth of a historically important US wine estate". As early as in 2006, Copolla acquired the former "Château Souverain" in Sonoma County. Here, a wide range of different wines are produced under the name Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

Image: By Unknown author - catalog.library, Public Domain, Link
Niebaum Coppola Winery: by Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

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