Priestley, best know for his role as Brandon Walsh on the TV series "Beverly Hills 90210," became interested in Wine X after the magazine profiled him for its August/September issue

Priestley's investment will help Wine X increase circulation - currently at 35,000 copies - and proceed with plans to develop radio and TV programs about wine, said Darryl Roberts, the magazine's editor and publisher.

"It helps us finance some of the things we are working on," Roberts said Monday.

Wine X, which published its first issue in the summer of 1997, hopes to expand circulation by moving the magazine into 3,300 7-Eleven stores that have started selling wine. It is developing radio and TV spots based on the magazine's hip, irreverent personality.

"We're starting to grow and people are starting to recognize us," Roberts said.