Inglenook Vineyards was founded in 1879 by Gustave Niebaum,
a Finnish sea captain who used his enormous wealth to import the best European
grapevines to the Napa Valley.
Over the next several decades, under the guidance of the
legendary John Daniel, Inglenook built a reputation as the source of some of
the finest wines ever made.
By 1975, however, when Francis and Eleanor Coppola first
purchased part of the famed property, the Inglenook Estate had long since been
broken up, and its name sold off. The Coppolas spent the next 20 years reuniting
the vineyards and restoring winemaking to the historic Inglenook Chateau.
Today, in addition to the Cabernet Sauvignon that dominates
the estate, the Inglenook acreage also is planted with Zinfandel, Cabernet
Franc, Merlot, Syrah and six acres of white Rhone varietals that produce the
estate’s flagship white, Blancaneaux.
Inglenook is now completely restored to original dimensions
and is, as Francis Ford Coppola put it, “America’s great wine estate once
again.”
