Constellation Brands, the alcoholic beverage manufacturer, announced quarterly earnings on Friday that managed to exceed expectations, mainly on the back of increased sales in its wine and vodka businesses that overshadowed the weak beer sales.

The full year earnings estimate shared by the company, however, managed to fall short of expectations.

On Thursday, the American wine and spirits manufacturer Constellation Brands Inc. posted much-better-than-expected quarterly earnings, inspite of the fact that many consumers were now looking to make the most of the lower-priced drinks being offered during recession.

An 85 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter profit has been reported by the world's biggest wine and spirits maker and distributor - Constellation Brands Inc. Citing restructuring costs as the reason for the plunge in profits, the thus far supposedly recession-resistant Constellation said that the earnings' figures still topped estimates by the Wall Street analysts by 1 percent!