Inglenook (former Copolla’s Rubicon Estate)

Inglenook Winery was once known as Rubicon Estate Winery and Niebaum-Copolla

When you first approach the Inglenook Winery you feel like you are stepping back in time. Magnificent fountains greet you as you walk up to the ivy covered facade of the historic Chateau. The interior is less imposing with a charming boutique and tasting room and Coppola’s movie memorabilia museum upstairs.
The cellars are reminiscent of those in France or Italy and there are quaint rooms for events and for wine storage.

Corina: I was there during the winter holiday season and what I remember most are the warm chestnuts they were selling outside and the absolutely wonderful Christmas decorations. It felt like a fantasy Chateau with a gravity of history and dark wooden paneling that could easy be the setting for one of Hitchcock’s films like “To Catch a Thief.”

Francis Ford Coppola, a five-time Oscar-winning director who is known for films like the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, purchased the Inglenook Estate in 1975. The first vintage of Rubicon was produced in 1978 and in 1995 he purchased the remaining part of the original estate (Inglenook Chateau). This brought the estate back to the bounds it had in 1879. The 200 acres of vineyards were certified organic by 2002 and in 2006 the winery name changed from Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery to Rubicon Estate in honor of the wine and the restoration of organically certified vineyards as well as the wine caves. In 2011 Francis Ford Coppola changed the name back to the original Inglenook.

Inglenook, 1991 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford, CA
Daily tours are $50. 707-968-1161

The boutique is open daily from 11 to 5.