Film director and wine baron Francis Ford Coppola has undertaken the huge project of trying to breathe life back into the downtrodden Inglenook brand.
A San Francisco Chronicle article in the business section reported that Coppola has acquired the Inglenook name from the Livermore, California-based company The Wine Group. Coppola's Rubicon Estate in Napa Valley is on the actual property which used to be Inglenook. According to the article, he intends to transform the property into America's premier wine estate.
Inglenook enjoyed a three-decade run as one of America's top quality wine producers. That period ended in the mid-1960s when the brand was sold to United Vintners. That started a decline which resulted in the Inglenook label landing in wine's bargain basement alongside Paul Masson, Almaden and Franzia.
Inglenook's current product is looked upon by many as plonk, but Coppola points out that bottles from the company's heyday are still regarded as some of the best Cabernets in the world. His intention is to bring back that kind of quality to the Inglenook name.
