CEO of Constellation Brands, a major local winery owner, steps down

Constellation Brands Inc., owner of the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa and other local wineries, said on Wednesday its chief executive officer will step down next March.

Rob Sands will be replaced by the company’s president, Bill Newlands.

After spending 11 years at the helm, Sands will take the role of executive chairman from his brother, Richard, of the Victor, New York company founded by their late father, Marvin, in 1945.

The company started in the bulk wine and spirits business but increasingly invested more in the wine business. By the mid-1990s, it controlled such large brands as Paul Masson and Inglenook.

Almost 20 years ago, it entered the premium wine category of North Coast and along the way picked up such labels as Clos du Bois in Geyserville and Simi Winery in Healdsburg. Most significantly, it was the company’s 2004 acquisition of Robert Mondavi that signaled Constellation would be a major player in the premium wine category.

It is now the third-largest wine company in the United States, producing an estimated 51 million cases last year.

Newlands joined Constellation Brands in 2015 as its executive vice president and chief growth officer. A year later, he got additional responsibilities as president of the company’s wine and spirits division.

“Bill has a deep understanding and appreciation for the values that have made Constellation Brands one of the top performing S&P 500 companies,” Richard Sands said in a statement. “I look forward to the continued success of our company under Bill’s leadership.”

The company’s primary growth in recent years has come from its U.S. distribution of Corona beer from Mexico, a right that it acquired five years ago.

Sands made a pitch a few years ago to acquire Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma from founder Tony McGee, but lost out in the bidding to Heineken International.

In response, Constellation Brands bought Ballast Point Spirits and Brewing Co. of San Diego for $1 billion, which many industry analysts concede was too much money for the brand.

Last year, Constellation Brands went into the cannabis sector by acquiring a ?10 percent stake in a Canadian medicinal cannabis provider. It is exploring the cannabis drinks sector, especially after Lagunitas was first to the market with a drink made in conjunction with Santa Rosa’s CannaCraft.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.