Centerra Wine Company Inc history

In 1951, the younger Sands opened Richards Wine Cellars in Petersburg, Virginia, and asked his father to assume control of the operation.

In 1954, however, Sands was lucky enough to come across something most entrepreneurs only dream about—a widely successful product that catapults a company into a future of rapid growth and high profits.

Established in 1972 by the Codorniu family in Barcelona, Spain, the winery was the first to produce Methode Champernoise sparking wines on the Iberian peninsula.

The most significant acquisition was made in 1974 when Canandaigua purchased the Bisceglia Brothers Winery in Madera, California.

In 1984, Canandaigua introduced Sun Country Wine Cooler, a concoction of wine, spritzer, and fruit flavorings.

In 1986, Richard Sands, son of founder Marvin, took over as president of the company.

In 1987, Canandaigua purchased a plant in McFarland, California, in order to produce grape juice concentrate and grape spirits.

In 1988, the company added Cal-Products in order to produce grape spirits.

Canandaigua was so pleased with the revenue generated by these products that it acquired Guild Wineries in 1991.

In 1992, Cordorniu built a facility in Napa Valley where it began to produce the popular Cordorniu Napa Valley Brut Cuvee.

Together, the two companies sold approximately 15 million cases of wines in 1993, and Almaden ranked fifth while Inglenook ranked sixth in table wine sales within the United States.

The company suffered a brief setback during the 1996 fiscal year after running into operational difficulties stemming from the aggressive string of acquisitions of the previous half-decade.

In the spring of 1998, Canandaigua succeeded with the launch of a new wine brand, Arbor Mist.

Net sales for 1999 were a shade under $1.5 billion.

The relationship between Constellation Brands and BRL Hardy crystallized in early 2003.