Constellation Brands sells eight Bay Area, Northwest wineries for $209M - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Officials at Healdsburg-based Ascentia Wine Estates confirmexd June10 they've acquired eight ultra-premiujm and luxury Sonoma Napa County and Pacific Northwest wineries or brands from giantf Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ). originally known as Eight Estates Fine Wines, was startecd by Jim DeBonis, the former chief operating officer of Beam Wine Along with DeBonis, its major investore include William and Peter Deutscn of New York-based wine importedr , , a San Francisco private equit food and beverage investor, and the Goldemn State Investment Fund.
Ascentia acquired a portfoliok of wineriesfrom California, Washington and which cumulatively produced 1 million cased of wine last year. They include Geyserville'xs Geyser Peak Winery, the Napa Valley-based Atlas Peak brand, Sonomw Valley's Buena Vista Carneros, Healdsburg's Gary Farrell Winery, and XYZin, a Geysed Peak brand -- all basefd in the Golden Statw -- along with Woodinville, Wash.,-based Columbia Winery and Wash.-based Covey Run, and southwest Idaho's Ste. along with 646 acres of prime vineyard land in Napa andSonom counties.
Eileen Fredrikson, of Woodside's Gomberg, Fredrikson Associates wine industryconsulting firm, said Geyser Peak and Buena Vista, in "both have significant asset value." Before the purchase priced was released, Fredrikson speculated that a price of $200 millionn would be in the right ballpark. Rob Sands, Constellation president and chiefexecutive officer, said the sale will "aie in streamlining Constellation's U.S. wine portfolio by eliminatinh duplication and excessproduction capacity." He said Constellation'sw other California wineries and its brand in Washingtohn will serve Constellation's customers well.
The North Bay wine community has been buzzing about a potential sale for In February, a report in Richard Cartiere'xs highly regarded Wine Market Repor t industry newsletter said Geyser Peak, Gary Farrel l and Buena Vista Carneros were being packaged for sale with an askingv price of about $200 million. Cartiere's newslettefr said the then-potential deal included Geyser Peak, Buena Vista Carneros and GaryFarrelk wineries, along with 1,000 acres of Sonoma Countu vineyards.
Constellation Brands acquired Beam Wine Estatexin mid-December for $885 million, including leadinhg producer Clos du Bois, but after the acquisitionh it kept Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak and Buen Vista Carneros in a separate division that many observera expected it to sell, probably as a packager deal. Constellation continues to own former BeamWine Estates' brande Clos du Bois and Paso Robles' Wild Horse Winery, now part of Constellation's Icon Estates unit. Clos du Bois, the largesf winery in the Beam was transferred earlier this yearinto Constellation's San Francisco-basedx VineOne unit.
"We are thrillee with this acquisition," said Ascentia CEO saying the highly raterbrands "will flourish" in the company's highly focused portfolio. He addede that W.J. Deutsch & Sons' role as Ascentia'se exclusive sales and marketing agent will give it immediate clou t inthe marketplace, and callec the Constellation acquisitions an "excellenyt platform from which Ascentia Wine Estates can launcgh future acquisitions.
" Peter Ekman, the former CEO of , is Ascentia'ws chief marketing and sales officer, and will create a marketingv campaign in conjunction with Deutsch to focua greater attention on the acquired brands, DeBoni said, allowing them to "step into the Constellation Brands owns local wineries in Yolo Count and Woodbridge near Lodi.