Constellation Brands
Encyclopedia
Constellation Brands, Inc., headquartered in Victor, New York
, is the world’s leading wine company with a broad portfolio of widely admired premium brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.
region of New York as Canandaigua Industries Company. Since that time, the company has grown through internal expansion and by acquisitions across all segments of the beverage alcohol industry.
Constellation Brands is the largest wine producer in the world; the largest premium wine company in the U.S.; the largest wine company in the U.K., Australia and Canada; the second largest wine company in New Zealand; the largest beer importer and marketer in the U.S. through its Crown Imports joint venture with Mexico’s Grupo Modelo
. Constellation Brands had sales of more than $3.77 billion in fiscal year 2008. It operates approximately 50 production facilities, employs approximately 8,200 and sells and markets its products worldwide.
The company has a portfolio of more than 200 brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.
Major wine brands include Robert Mondavi
, Hardys, Clos du Bois, Ravenswood, Blackstone, Banrock Station, Nobilo, Kim Crawford, Inniskillin
, Jackson-Triggs
and Arbor Mist
. Major beer brands include Corona
, Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo, Pacífico
, St. Pauli Girl
and Tsingtao
. Major spirits brands include Black Velvet Canadian Whisky
, Svedka
Vodka and Paul Masson
Grande Amber Brandy.
a number of other beverage companies throughout the world.
In 1998, it acquired Matthew Clark plc in the United Kingdom
, and after selling off its cider
business, the Gaymer Cider Company
, sold half of the business to Punch Taverns
. Recent acquisitions include BRL Hardy (Australia) and Nobilo (New Zealand) in 2003; Robert Mondavi
Corp. for $1 billion in 2004; Vincor International, Canada’s largest wine company, for $1.44 billion in 2006; Spirits Marque One (owner of Svedka Vodka) in 2007; and Beam Wines Estates, the wine operations of Fortune Brands
(which included several major brands such as Clos du Bois) for $885 million in 2008. The company later moved to a more premium wine portfolio, divesting Almaden Vineyards
, Inglenook Winery
, and the Paul Masson winery in Madera, California
, in 2008, and its value spirits portfolio in 2009.
Victor, New York
Victor is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 9,977 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Claudius Victor Boughton, a hero of the War of 1812.The Town of Victor contains a village, also called Victor...
, is the world’s leading wine company with a broad portfolio of widely admired premium brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.
History and description
The company was established in 1945 by Marvin Sands in the Finger LakesFinger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
region of New York as Canandaigua Industries Company. Since that time, the company has grown through internal expansion and by acquisitions across all segments of the beverage alcohol industry.
Constellation Brands is the largest wine producer in the world; the largest premium wine company in the U.S.; the largest wine company in the U.K., Australia and Canada; the second largest wine company in New Zealand; the largest beer importer and marketer in the U.S. through its Crown Imports joint venture with Mexico’s Grupo Modelo
Grupo Modelo
Grupo Modelo is a large brewery in Mexico, It has 63% of the Mexican beer market, and exports beer to the United Kingdom, United States and Canada . Its export brands include Corona, Modelo, and Pacífico...
. Constellation Brands had sales of more than $3.77 billion in fiscal year 2008. It operates approximately 50 production facilities, employs approximately 8,200 and sells and markets its products worldwide.
The company has a portfolio of more than 200 brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.
Major wine brands include Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
, Hardys, Clos du Bois, Ravenswood, Blackstone, Banrock Station, Nobilo, Kim Crawford, Inniskillin
Inniskillin
Inniskillin is a Canadian winery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Inniskillin, which is mainly noted for their icewine production, has played an important pioneering role in the modern Canadian wine industry...
, Jackson-Triggs
Jackson-Triggs
Jackson-Triggs is a Canadian winery with vineyards in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia and the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario.In 1993 Donald Triggs and Allan Jackson founded Mississauga-based company Vincor Canada which began to produce Jackson-Triggs wine...
and Arbor Mist
Arbor Mist
Arbor Mist is the brand name of an alcoholic beverage which blends seasonal wines such as merlot, zinfandel and chardonnay with fruit flavorings. Its slogan is "Great Tasting Wine with a Splash of Fruit," describing the beverage. Arbor Mist has a lower alcohol content than most wines, and is...
. Major beer brands include Corona
Corona (beer)
Corona Extra, better known as Corona and labeled as Coronita in Spain, is a brand of pale lager owned and produced by Cerveceria Modelo at a number of breweries in Mexico. It is one of the best-selling beers in Mexico and is one of the top-selling beers worldwide...
, Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo, Pacífico
Pacífico
Cerveza Pacífico Clara, better known as Pacifico, is a Mexican pilsner-style beer. It was first brewed in 1900 when three Germans opened a brewery, the Cerveceria del Pacífico in Mazatlán. Cerveza Pacifico is named so because the Pacifico brewery is located in the Pacific Ocean port city of...
, St. Pauli Girl
St. Pauli Girl
St. Pauli Girl beers are brewed and bottled by the St. Pauli Brauerei, which is located within the Beck's brewery in Bremen, Germany.The brand derives its name from the fact that the original brewery, established 1857 by Lüder Rutenberg, was located next to the former St Paul's Monastery in...
and Tsingtao
Tsingtao Brewery
Tsingtao Brewery Co.,Ltd. is China's second largest brewery. It was founded in 1903 by German settlers and now claims about 15% of domestic market share. The beer is produced in Tsingtao/Qingdao in Shandong province , but the name of the beer uses the old École française d'Extrême-Orient...
. Major spirits brands include Black Velvet Canadian Whisky
Black Velvet (whisky)
Black Velvet Whisky is a Canadian whisky brand owned by Constellation Brands. It has a strong taste and is known for its black labeling. It is a 'whisky mix' meaning that it is a blend of various whiskies....
, Svedka
Svedka
Svedka is a brand of vodka manufactured in Lidköping, Sweden and owned by New York-based Constellation Brands. The product's name is a portmanteau of the words Sverige and the word vodka. The spirit is 80 proof . The flavored versions are 70 proof or 35% alcohol...
Vodka and Paul Masson
Paul Masson
Paul Masson was an early pioneer of California viticulture and successful popularizer of Californian sparkling wine.-Biography:...
Grande Amber Brandy.
Acquisitions
Constellation Brands has expanded by acquiringMergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
a number of other beverage companies throughout the world.
In 1998, it acquired Matthew Clark plc in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and after selling off its cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
business, the Gaymer Cider Company
Gaymer Cider Company
The Gaymer Cider Company produces and markets Cider. It is owned by C&C Group plc since 2010, who also owns Magners Cider, Bulmers Cider in Ireland and Tennents in Scotland.-History:The Gaymer family had a cider making business in Banham, Norfolk, from 1680...
, sold half of the business to Punch Taverns
Punch Taverns
Punch Taverns plc is the largest pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 6,800 leased, tenanted and managed pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire...
. Recent acquisitions include BRL Hardy (Australia) and Nobilo (New Zealand) in 2003; Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
Corp. for $1 billion in 2004; Vincor International, Canada’s largest wine company, for $1.44 billion in 2006; Spirits Marque One (owner of Svedka Vodka) in 2007; and Beam Wines Estates, the wine operations of Fortune Brands
Fortune Brands
Fortune Brands was a holding company founded in 1969 as American Brands and later renamed in 1997 and split apart in 2011. The corporate headquarters was in Deerfield, Illinois in the United States. The company historically had a significant diversity of product offerings...
(which included several major brands such as Clos du Bois) for $885 million in 2008. The company later moved to a more premium wine portfolio, divesting Almaden Vineyards
Almaden Vineyards
Almaden Vineyards is a winery located in Escalon and Madera, California. They claim to be California's oldest winery.Their original location was at the Old Almaden Winery south of San José between Los Gatos and Almaden...
, Inglenook Winery
Inglenook Winery
The Inglenook Winery produced estate bottled wines in Rutherford, California in the Napa Valley. The winery was founded in 1879 by a Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum. Niebaum died in 1908 and the winery was shut down during Prohibition...
, and the Paul Masson winery in Madera, California
Madera, California
Madera is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, United States. It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Madera County, and Metropolitan Fresno. It is located in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2010...
, in 2008, and its value spirits portfolio in 2009.
See also
- Constellation Wines Australia
- Mega-purpleMega-purpleMega Purple is a brand name for a food additive produced from grapes by Canandaigua West of Merced, California, a division of Constellation Brands. The process used for producing the additive is proprietary. Based on the descriptions of effects to wines by winemakers it is likely produced by a...
- Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts CenterConstellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts CenterThe Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center , formerly known as the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center is an outdoor concert venue in the Town of Hopewell, New York, just east of the City of Canandaigua, on the grounds of Finger Lakes Community College...
External links
- Official website
- Official corporate social responsibility website
- Company structure on Monster.comMonster.comMonster.com is one of the largest employment websites in the world, owned and operated by Monster Worldwide, Inc. Monster is one of the 20 most visited websites out of 100 million worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrics...