DAVID BARRICHE
David runs things here. He is the hands, the face, the voice behind the wine; the man whose signature is on Purgatori (DO Costers del Segre), one of Familia Torres's prestige winemaking projects.
Born in Reus (Tarragona), David Barriche might be the oddball among the winemakers and vineyard managers who have shared their stories here so far. As the descendants of winegrowing and winemaking families, they all had a certain connection to the land, to rural tradition, in common. In David's case, his childhood memories are steeped in summer, the love of family, and the pleasures of good food and wine:
“...my memories take me back to summer evenings with my grandfather in Portugal. Dinners in the village, where his glass of wine was a permanent fixture. The fact that my day-to-day brings up memories like that is something special, which makes my work even more worthwhile.”
The memories of those summer days inspired David's decision to pursue agricultural engineering, a decision that would change his life forever: “During that time, I met a colleague, now a friend, who had his own winery. Because of our friendship, I spent the summer of 2009 working there. Coming into contact with vineyards for the first time, the grapes and winemaking process, but especially the excitement of those intense days, fascinated me.”
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Bodega Purgatori (Familia Torres), DO Costers del Segre.
David is now a highly qualified young man, driven by the same passion as that first summer, who has an in-depth understanding of where he works. He knows the land and brings out its best:
“...very cold winters, extremely hot summers, and little rainfall make this a very special place with a lot of personality. A place defined by characteristics as extreme as those found at Purgatori winery leaves its mark. And it is precisely this sense of place, this identity, that lets the wines reveal their terroir. In an area like l'Aranyó, varieties such as Garnacha and Cariñena express their full qualitative potential.”
As David points out, “In D.O. Costers del Segre, the 2018 vintage will be remembered as the first we made at the new winery, located on the historical Mas de l'Aranyó estate, which dates back to 1770 and the arrival of the Benedictine monks.” An added cultural value that makes it easy to draw in enthusiastic, likeminded people like David.
Now David has come full circle, providing new memories with every extraordinary bottle of Purgatori, like those of the little boy who spent Portuguese summer nights in the company of his tight-knit family.
“When I see people enjoying our wine, I feel fulfilled. The teamwork and the effort we put into this were worth it.”
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David, in the vineyards of l'Aranyó (owned by Familia Torres), DO Costers del Segre.
Once again, the impressions of the past are essential to understanding the motivations that drive us. Paying attention to the small joys in life is important so that our experiences can nourish our progress. And when destiny catches up with us, we'll be waiting with a glass of wine, celebrating what we've lived and what is yet to come.