Inglenook Winery

Inglenook is a historical property in Rutherford, in California's Napa Valley. It was established as a vineyard in 1871 and has been owned by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola since 1975. Today, it makes a premium range of wines from classic Napa varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel.

In 1879, the 31-hectare (78-acre) estate was purchased by Gustave Nieubaum, as well as an adjoining 178-ha (440-acre) plot of land. Nieubaum continued to expand Inglenook's holdings throughout the end of the 19th Century, and the wine was well-received by the public until the advent of Prohibition in 1919. When the Volstead Act was enacted, Inglenook emptied all of its vats and sold off all the grapes in line with the new laws. In 1933, when the act was repealed, production resumed under the leadership of John Daniel, Jr. with great success  – the legendary 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon was one of Wine Spectator's 12 'Wines of the Century' in 1999. 

In 1975, Francis Ford Coppola bought 630ha (1560 acres) of the estate with the profits from his film "The Godfather". It was named the Nieubaum-Coppola Estate Winery as the purchase did not include the rights to the name Inglenook. The flagship Rubicon wine, a Bordeaux Blend, had its first harvest in 1978 and was released in 1985. In 1995, Coppola purchased the rest of the Inglenook estate, and finally in 2011, acquired the rights to the name Inglenook. Since then, the wines have been made under this name.

The Rubicon, which is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, is Inglenook's most famous wine. In addition to this, there are a few varietal red wines and Blancaneaux, a Rhone-style white blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier made from a tiny 2.6-ha (6.5-acre) plot in the vineyard.