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Gustave NiebaumFrancis Ford Coppola acutely feels the influence not only of his extended Italian family, but also of the Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum (also known as Gustave Nybom) (died 1908), founder of the vineyard Coppola bought in 1975, now called the Niebaum-Coppola Vineyard. The vineyards and the winery were originally developed by Niebaum, an entrepreneur, explorer, fure hunter and former sea captain. He purchased the Inglenook property in 1880 and set about developing it into a wine estate that would rival the finest chateaux of Bordeaux, France. The winery that Gustave Niebaum completed in 1887 was indeed as beautiful as many French chateaux, and it was the first Bordeaux style winery in USA. In the 1889 Paris World Fair Niebaum wines won gold medals, making Gustave Niebaum a household name among the wine circles. After Niebaum died in 1908, his widow managed the business for many years and, upon her death in 1937, left the property to her grand-nephew John Daniel Jr. and his sister, who had both grown up there. In 1964, John Daniel sold off 94 acres (380,000 m²), including some of the vineyards and the historic Inglenook Chateau winemaking facility, divesting a small but highly important part of the estate. During the Niebaum family's stewardship, Inglenook wines were served to U.S. presidents and their esteemed guests and were honored with numerous international awards. Gustave Niebaum was born in Oulu, Finland. He completed his maritime education in Helsinki, Finland, before sailing his ship to Alaska, via San Francisco, for fure hunting. Niebaum knew two of the Finnish Governors of Alaska, when Alaska was still part of the Russian Empire. Niebaum mapped parts of the Alaskan Coastline. He was a major contributer in the purchase of Alaska from Russia to USA while he worked as the Russian Consul in San Francisco California. Niebaum, Gustave Niebaum, Gustave Niebaum, Gustave Niebaum, Gustave Niebaum, Gustave
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