The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in the United States sells wines from the Napa Valley. These wines have a historical link to the Civil War. The Sonoma and Napa Valleys in California have a history tied to the Civil War and their wineries. This article is part of a series that explores this connection.
The link between the Civil War, wine, and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola began in the 1970s. After his success in film, Coppola bought Inglenook Winery. This property was previously owned by Gustave Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain. Niebaum made his fortune through a partnership with the Alaska Commercial Company, setting up trade routes from Alaska to the U.S. In 1879, Niebaum bought 450 acres and founded Inglenook.
Hamden McIntyre, a Civil War veteran and former employee of the Alaska Commercial Company, is the link to the Civil War. Born in 1834 in Randolph, Vermont, McIntyre served as a volunteer in the civil service during the war. After the war, he moved to San Francisco to work on the re-organization of the Alaska Commercial Company. There, he met Niebaum who offered him a job at Inglenook.