Following on from the last post about wealthy winegrowers and the stratosphere of the super-rich is another tale from the high-end of wine finance. Francis Ford Coppola is rightly famous for his esteemed career as a visionary and powerful film director, yet he is also a widely renowned Oenophile and dabbler in the viticultural arts.
Following the success of ‘The Godfather’, Coppola re-invested some of his new-found wealth in wine. Buying up the Niebaum estate in Napa Valley in 1975 allowed the director to involve himself and his family in the production of their own vintage. The Niebaum estate had itself been in existence since 1879, since its foundation by a Finnish mariner Gustave Niebaum. The Finn’s winery introduced many samples of the noble vine to the new world, quickly establishing itself as a hallmark of quality in the early days of American winemaking. Like much of America’s wine, however, it ceased production during the folly of the Prohibition years. Re-opened after repeal, Niebaum’s widow attempted to reclaim the quality for which the winery had been famed. In 1939 the great-nephew of Gustave, John Daniel Jr, took over the estate and win back its reputation in the early 1940s. Coppola’s purchase tied him into the very fabric of American winemaking and allowed him an insight into small-scale vinification and old fashioned viticuilture. Within two years of the purchase the winery showed promise, and its inaugural 1977 vintage was produced by hand and drew Coppola’s family together in a festival of winemaking.
Yet Coppola’s purchase of part of the Niebaum estate did not include the historic winery or the trademark ‘Inglenook’ brand under which the Niebaum estate had flourished. these were to pass between various corporate concerns over the intervening decades as part of various broad asset portfolios. After making a success of this small winery, however, Coppola had clearly found his thirst. The great director added to his estate piecemeal and by 1995 he had reconstituted most of the former Inglenook winery estate, although ownership of the historic ‘Inglenook’ trademark had eluded him until 2011.
Recent announcements from Coppola made public the hiring of former Chateau Margaux consultant Phillipe Bascaules (who served as Estate Director for 11 years at Margaux) in an effort to revive the Niebaum estate’s legacy under the ‘Inglenook’ brand. The stated intention is to create perhaps the finest ‘Old world’ winery in the United States, drawing on a long European heritage which is itself a rare commodity in the American wine industry. Bascaule’s belief in the winery’s potential along with the reassurance from Coppola that he will support the endeavour promises to reinvigorate a founding figure of American winemaking. Such a legacy is both challenging and exciting and presents a positive step.
In this instance, the injection of wealth into the wine industry has seen a forgotten gem unearthed with the promise that it will be placed back where it rightly belongs. The success of such gambles with investment are interesting although ultimately, it seems, predicated on the requisite passion injected alongside capital.
Haven’t read you in a while but it is great to finally catch up.
Fascinating about the Coppola wine empitre. Have you been to the Niebaum estate in Napa? We almost went earlier this year but hadf to cancel. I’m terribly curious about it.