NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 12, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its double-'B' rating to Constellation Brands Inc.'s proposed $200 million senior unsecured note offering due 2008. The recently announced $295 million acquisition of Turner Road Vintners, a division of Sebastiani Vineyards Inc., is expected to be partially funded with the proceeds of the note offering. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its double-'B' corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings and its single-'B'-plus subordinated debt rating on Constellation Brands. The outlook is negative. About $1.28 billion of total debt was outstanding at Nov. 30, 2000. Ratings reflect Constellation's strong cash generation from a diverse portfolio of beverage alcohol products. This factor is offset, in part, by the competitive
