INGLENOOK HISTORICAL TIMELINE : 1842 - 2011

1842 30th August – Gustav Ferdinand Nybom is born in , .

1861 Nybom graduates from the Nautical Institute in Helsinki (19 years old)

After receiving his master papers from Nautical Institute, Nybom (22 yrs old) commands a ship headed to , which is part of the Russian 1864 Empire.

Not long after the US purchase of Alaska, Nybom sails into harbour with a ship loaded with Alaskan furs. He creates the Alaska Commercial Company (26 yrs old) which, for the next 50 years, would build important trading stations in the Yukon and Aleutian Islands. 1868 The company also owned ocean steamers, sailing vessels and river boats, which were the only means of transportation to and from San Francisco during the Gold Rush, as well as fur operations and salmon canneries.

William C Watson, son in law of George C Yount (founder of Yountville) and manager of the Bank of Napa, buys the 78 acre G. Koni farm, west of Rutherford. He 1872 names it , a Scottish expression meaning 'cozy corner' or 'fireside,' and plants the first vines.

1873 Nybom changes his name to and marries Susan Shingleberger, a native Californian.

1873-1879 Agricultural and industrial depression hits the US economy. winemakers consider abandoning the industry.

Watson sells the Inglenook land to Judge S Clinton Hastings, founder of the University of California Hastings Law School.

Niebaum, who by this time had amassed a personal fortune in excess of $10 million, buys the 440 acre farm from Mrs. Rohlwing and the 78 acre Inglenook Farm from Judge Hastings. Total cost of both farms is $48,000. 1879 Inglenook’s location, nestled against the protective Mount St John (700m), complied with Niebaum’s criteria to build a world class winery.

Polyglot, Niebaum had originally intended to build a winery in Europe; however, his wife didn’t share her husband’s love of the sea and insisted that they stay in the San Francisco area, hence their move to Rutherford.

Hamden W McIntyre, an agent of the Alaska Commercial Company, is appointed as general manager of Inglenook.

Niebaum commissions William Mooser, a San Francisco architect, to design the chateau in conjunction with McIntyre who provides the winery design. (NB. McIntyre later becomes a prominent designer of Napa Valley wineries) 1881

Construction of the winery begins.

Niebaum travels to Europe to buy rootstock in Bordeaux.

Economic recovery. Price of wine rises to 35 cents/gallon. Inglenook holdings: 64 acres of vines in production. 90 acres newly planted 1880-1884 Clone 29, otherwise known as the “Niebaum clone” of was planted. The first in the Napa Valley was planted on the Inglenook Estate in 1882.

First vintage of Inglenook (80,000 gallons: 403,777 bottles) produced in makeshift cellar on the back of the property. This winery is also where Coppola made his first vintages. Niebaum distinguishes himself from other growers by sorting all his grapes and separating them from field debris before they are crushed.

1882 Niebaum also purchases 712 acres from five neighboring estates to increase the overall holding.

McIntyre & Niebaum dig a test cellar into the hillside behind the present mansion to test their theory of cellar temperatures and construction design. Their goal is to find optimum cellar temperatures of 55-60°F (13-16°C).

1883 Construction begins on the Inglenook Chateau (winery).

1883-1889 Niebaum works with Board of State Commissioners to attempt to eradicate phylloxera.

1884 Inglenook increases capacity from 80 000 gallons to 125 000 gallons (630 905 bottles)

A full line of the Inglenook wines is presented to a meeting of the Wine and Spirit Traders' Society of New York, the nation's leading spirit importers. When the testing is 1886 completed, the verdict is rendered: Inglenook wines are judged the best California wines ever to have been shown there.

Construction of the monumental Inglenook Chateau is completed. This unique building, built into a hill, is the first gravity-flow winery in the Napa Valley. Grapes are 1888 loaded on the 3rd floor, before flowing into large redwood fermenters on the 2nd floor and finally large casks on the ground floor. It is regarded as one of the greatest winery structures in the Western Hemisphere.

California wines, including Inglenook, win 27 medals at the Centennial Exposition. Inglenook also wins a “First Award of Merit” at the Australian Exposition, in direct competition with French and German wines.

Ever conscious of quality control, Niebaum pioneered the first sterile bottling line in the Napa Valley to protect the reputation of his wines. His bottles, which bore the 1889 Inglenook label, were also wrapped in wire mesh with a tamperproof lead seal in the punt.

After only ten years, Niebaum's goal of producing a "to equal and excel the most famous vintages of Europe" is on the brink of realization. His attention to detail and extreme hygiene in the winery have attracted the attention of winemakers and journalists. The San Francisco Chronicle devotes a two page feature to Niebaum’s pioneering methods.

1890 Inglenook hires F.A. Haber as sales agent. Begins aggressive entry into the wine marketplace.

Inglenook is served at the White House to President Grover Cleveland.

Wines are also exported to Mexico. 1891

Sales agent Haber reports that he can fill no further orders for Inglenook wine because Captain Niebaum has refused to bottle any more until it has been properly aged.

10 barrels of Inglenook are sent to Russian war ships based in Nagasaki, Japan. 1894 Completion of the Niebaum mansion.

1901 Inglenook wines are served on ships in the South Pacific and in dining cars of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Great Earthquake destroys much of San Francisco, including the Alaska Commercial Company headquarters on Sansome Street. One of the only buildings left 1906 standing was the Sentinel Building, now home to Coppola’s American Zoetrope.

1907 John Daniel, Jr. is born (son of John Daniel, husband of Mrs. Gustave Niebaum’s niece).

Captain Gustave Niebaum dies on August 5, aged 66, as a result of heart disease. 1908 Inglenook closes for three years.

John Daniel Sr. and his family move to Inglenook to help Mrs. Niebaum reopen the winery. Lafayette Stice is appointed as winemaker. 1911 Production: 50 000 gallons (252 360 bottles)

1914 When John Daniel Sr.'s wife dies from diphtheria, he turns to his aunt, Mrs. Niebaum, to help bring up his children, Susanne and John Daniel, Jr.

1915 Inglenook wine triumphs, winning 19 gold medals at San Francisco’s Panama Pacific International Exhibition, celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal.

As the 18th Amendment is passed on July 1st, begins, forcing many of the 200 wineries in the Napa Valley to close.

1919 In order to preserve the estate, Mrs. Niebaum decides to sell Inglenook’s grapes to neighboring , who is making wines for religious and medicinal purposes.

Prohibition ends on December 5th. Inglenook hosts an all-day celebration for 300 guests on December 6th. 1933 Mrs. Niebaum appoints expert winemaker, Carl Bundschu, as director of Inglenook. Bundschu reaffirms Inglenook's adherence to its traditionally high standards.

After graduating from Stanford with an engineering degree, John Daniel, Jr. decides to forego a budding career as a pilot, to join the family estate and work alongside Bundschu to learn about the wine business. 1934

Inglenook’s Claret wins 1st place at the California State Fair.

Mrs. Niebaum dies. John Daniel, Jr. and Susanne inherit the estate. Susanne moves south to create a horse ranch, whilst John Daniel, Jr. continues the family legacy. 1936 Winemakers John Gross, and later George Dueur, are appointed and make a succession of critically-acclaimed vintages.

John Daniel's meticulous management of Inglenook becomes famous throughout the world. Inglenook receives the largest number of awards of any California winery at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. 1939

Inglenook regularly plays host to many Hollywood stars, including Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.

First Inglenook Charbono appears.

Daniel becomes director of the Wine Institute and holds the position for 28 years. World War II interrupts wine importing from , Germany and Italy for 6 years. 1941

In later years, the 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon earns the reputation of being one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons ever made, achieving a perfect 100 score in the Wine Spectator.

1947 Over the next ten years, Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon wines win five gold medals at the California State Fair.

Inglenook’s Diamond Jubliee (75 years). 50 wine merchants are invited to Inglenook for a tour of the winery and a luncheon under the trees.

1954 Daniel uses the slogan “Pride, Not Profit” in his advertisements, a motto that is more apt than many realize, as Daniel, like Niebaum, is subsidising operations from his personal wealth.

1960 Daniel creates the “Cask” labels.

The uncompromising management of the Inglenook estate, installed by Niebaum and continued under John Daniel's stewardship, starts to take its toll. The winery, 85 years old, is sorely in need of costly repairs and new equipment. The winemaker, George Deuer, is talking of retiring, and Daniel himself is nearing sixty.

Daniel sells Inglenook to Allied Grape Growers, a cooperative that owns most of the Central Valley. The purchase includes the Inglenook name, the Chateau and 94 1964 acres of land (72 acres of planted ) facing Highway 29. Later in the year, United Vintners is formed, a San Francisco-based marketing organization, which officially owns Inglenook.

John Daniel retains the Niebaum mansion and the surrounding 1500 acres to the back of the Inglenook estate, where he and his family continue to live; however, he no longer has the use of the Inglenook name, nor the Chateau image.

1965 New owners streamline the production process, contrary to their promise to John Daniel.

Inglenook Vintage generic wines are added to the misgivings of many in the wine community as to whether Inglenook will survive with its reputation intact. There is 1967 no longer any established house style of winemaking or benchmark.

1969 Heublein Incorporated purchases 82% of United Vintners and in the process, acquires Inglenook.

1970 John Daniel, Jr. dies. Convinced that winemaking is not a suitable career for her two daughters, his wife decides to sell the estate.

Francis Ford Coppola, searching for a small family property, visits the estate and falls in love with the natural beauty of the “back property."

1972 The fixed bid auction rapidly puts Coppola out of the running. A successful bid is made by a consortium of developers who intend to replace the vineyards with a golf course and build houses on Mount St. John. The Land Trust of Napa Country rejects their plans, fearful that the valley will become a commuter village.

1974 Heublein introduces the low-priced Inglenook Navalle wines, which join the Vintage generic wines and the Inglenook premium wines.

1975 Francis & Eleanor Coppola purchase 1560 acres of the Inglenook Estate with the proceeds from '' films.

The first harvest of Niebaum-Coppola’s wine – a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The wine is made in the cellars of the 1978 original winery on the back property.

1979 Inglenook’s Centennial Dinner is held at the Sheraton Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

After 15 months in 1200 gallon (45 hectolitre) French oak casks and 18 months in 60 gallon (228 litre) French oak barrels, the first Niebaum-Coppola wine, 'Rubicon 1978,' is released. Because the wine is a blend, federal law requires that it be called 'California Red Table Wine' unless given a proprietary name. Coppola chooses 1983 the name 'Rubicon,' which refers to Caesar’s famous crossing of a river in Northern Italy, which denotes the point of no return for him and his troops – an appropriate metaphor for Coppola’s own venture into world-class winemaking. Rubicon and Insignia (from Joseph Phelps Vineyards) are the first use of proprietary wine blend names in Napa Valley.

The Coppolas purchase the vineyards to the front of the property and the historic Chateau with the profits from 'Bram Stoker’s Dracula.' This reunites the property 1995 and its Chateau for the first time in three decades.

Coppola acquires Gustave Niebaum Commemorative Series brand and redesigns the label to bring back 'Black Label Claret,' one of Niebaum's original wines. 1996 The Edizione Pennino is named in honor of Coppola’s maternal grandfather.

1997 The Niebaum-Coppola Centennial Museum opens.

1998 Paying tribute to the great Cask Cabernets produced by John Daniel, Jr., Cask Cabernet Sauvignon is launched with the 1995 vintage.

2000 Blancaneaux, the flagship white wine is launched with the 1999 vintage. Blancaneaux is named after the family’s resort in Belize.

Coppola purchases the much coveted JJ Cohn property located on the southern edge of the estate. 2002 Winemaking returns to the Chateau after 36 years.

Coppola realises Niebaum’s dream, by successfully carving cellars under the hill behind the Chateau, previously inconceivable due to the high gravel content in the 2003 soil.

2006 The name of the winery is changed from Niebaum-Coppola Estate to Rubicon Estate.

After three decades of investment, negotiation and hard work, Coppola finally secures the rights to the Inglenook name and the use of the Chateau image. The Inglenook estate is complete for the first time since 1964. 2011 Coppola appoints Philippe Bascaules as General Manager. Bascaules’ mission is simple. He inherits a 130-year-old dream, shared by Niebaum, John Daniel, Jr. and Coppola, to produce wines at Inglenook that rival the best in Europe. His 21 years at Chateau Margaux put him in good stead to achieve that goal.

Press contact (Europe) : Lorraine Carrigan (France). Tel : +33 6 77 00 50 13. Email : [email protected]