Domaines Barons De Rothschild

Chalone Inc. of San Francisco, one of America's few publicly held winery companies, and Domaines Barons de Rothschild of France announced Thursday a joint investment venture between the companies in which they would acquire 6% of each other's stock. The announcement was made at a San Francisco news conference by W.

Napa Valley vintner Chalone Wine Group Ltd. has agreed to be acquired by the owner of the Chateau Lafite-Rothschild label in a complex deal that would create a new high-end California wine company. Chalone and Domaines Barons de Rothschild said Monday that they signed an accord over the weekend calling for the legendary French vintner to pay $11.75 a share in cash for the 51% of Chalone that it didn't already own and to assume $65 million in debt.

Chalone Wine Group Ltd. said Friday that it entered into a confidentiality agreement with winemakers Constellation Brands Inc. and Domaines Barons de Rothschild in connection with their potential purchase of Chalone. Chalone, based in Napa, Calif., said in regulatory filings that the agreement to provide certain financial information to Paris-based Rothschild and Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation expires in 2007.

Chalone Wine Group Ltd. said Friday that it entered into a confidentiality agreement with winemakers Constellation Brands Inc. and Domaines Barons de Rothschild in connection with their potential purchase of Chalone. Chalone, based in Napa, Calif., said in regulatory filings that the agreement to provide certain financial information to Paris-based Rothschild and Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation expires in 2007.

Napa Valley vintner Chalone Wine Group Ltd. has agreed to be acquired by the owner of the Chateau Lafite-Rothschild label in a complex deal that would create a new high-end California wine company. Chalone and Domaines Barons de Rothschild said Monday that they signed an accord over the weekend calling for the legendary French vintner to pay $11.75 a share in cash for the 51% of Chalone that it didn't already own and to assume $65 million in debt.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Domaines Barons de Rothschild's making wine in northern Chile, the longtime owners of Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux created a wine called Le Dix de Los Vascos. The grapes -- all Cabernet Sauvignon -- come from 50-year-old vines on the property. The result is a stunning Cabernet that has the elegance and refinement of a top Bordeaux married with the terroir of Chile.

A British company has struck a deal to buy Napa Valley's Chalone Wine Group Ltd. for $186 million, according to people familiar with the negotiations. London-based Diageo, which owns the Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer brands, became the winning bidder after a group that included Constellation Brands Inc., the world's largest wine company, let a midnight Friday deadline expire without submitting a new offer, the sources said.

The shares of Napa premium wine producer Chalone Wine Group Ltd. continued their ascent Wednesday in anticipation that a second bidder might emerge for the vintner. In May, Constellation Brands Inc., the world's largest wine company and producer of Paul Masson and dozens of other brands, and Domaines Barons de Rothschild, owner of France's famous Chateau Lafite-Rothschild of Bordeaux, offered $9.25 a share, or about $112 million, for the company.

As Americans purchase more and more wine, something else is attracting plenty of eager buyers: California vintners. This year, three major wineries have been snapped up -- two in the last few weeks alone. The trend, analysts say, is being driven in large part by a sharp increase in U.S. wine consumption and the likelihood that consumers' tastes for all sorts of reds and whites will keep growing.

MAINE Get a peek at art and gardens Picture the canvases of Winslow Homer, the Wyeths and Frederic Edwin Church, then see the landscapes that inspired them on a weeklong art and garden tour of Maine with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The July 19 trip, which will focus on the state's rich art heritage and its rugged coastal scenery, will coincide with the biennial Open Garden Day tour in the Bar Harbor area.

Chalone Inc. of San Francisco, one of America's few publicly held winery companies, and Domaines Barons de Rothschild of France announced Thursday a joint investment venture between the companies in which they would acquire 6% of each other's stock. The announcement was made at a San Francisco news conference by W.

Paul Masson wants to go into business with Baron Rothschild. In the latest sign of consolidation sweeping through California's $14-billion wine industry, two of the biggest names in the business said Monday that they wanted to acquire Napa-based Chalone Wine Group, maker of the Chalone, Acacia and Echelon labels. Constellation Brands Inc.

With its aggressive bid for Robert Mondavi Corp., Constellation Brands Inc. is aiming to go from mass to class. Sixty years after it began churning out fruit wines in an old sauerkraut factory, Constellation stands as the world's biggest vintner and is poised to join the ranks of international beverage-industry powerhouses. The products it makes or distributes include Corona beer, Almaden wine in a box, Manischewitz kosher wine and Black Velvet Canadian whiskey.