World’s No. 1 wine producer, NY-based Constellation, will sell historic Widmer Winery

Constellation to sell NY’s historic Widmer Winery

VICTOR, N.Y. — The world’s biggest wine company is selling an 1880s-era winery to a rival business in New York’s Finger Lakes wine country instead of shutting its doors.

Constellation Brands Inc. says an affiliate of Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards is paying an undisclosed sum to buy the historic Widmer Winery in Naples, 40 miles southeast of Rochester.

Constellation is the biggest wine maker by volume. It sells or markets more than 100 brands, including Manischewitz, Widmer, Paul Masson and Taylor. It said Wednesday the Widmer sale is expected to be completed by June.

The company is based in the suburban Rochester town Victor. It said in September it planned to close Widmer in 2011 and donate the building and its vineyards to Rochester Institute of Technology to enhance the school’s programs in wine and culinary arts.