Fortune Brands to Buy Geyser Peak Winery

Fortune Brands Inc. said it will buy Geyser Peak Winery and an adjacent vineyard for $100 million, adding premium wines to its brands of liquor, including Jim Beam bourbon and DeKuyper cordials. The maker of Master Locks, Moen faucets and Titleist golf balls would buy the Sonoma County winery for $59 million in cash and would assume $35 million in debt. Fortune would pay an additional $6 million for a nearby vineyard property. The Geyser Peak Winery had 1997 sales of $35 million. Its brands include Venezia, FoxRidge and Canyon Road. Old Greenwich, Conn.-based Fortune Brands rose 31 cents to close at $39.63 on the NYSE.