OVER 145 YEARS OF HISTORY

Uncertainties and economic crises, transatlantic adventures, wars, paradigm shifts in society, and the devastating effects of climate change: plenty of ups and downs have shaped the history of the winery and the Torres family.

Every generation has suffered the vicissitudes of its era and historical context. At the same time, the family's entrepreneurial spirit, tenacity, perseverance and stoic resilience in the face of adversity has been a constant, as though written in its very DNA, throughout the history of Bodegas Torres. The family has its own winemaking philosophy, which has brought the winery international praise and recognition.

Although the winery's founding dates to 1870, the Torres family's winegrowing heritage goes back 300 years.

JAIME TORRES VENDRELL (1839-1906)

The journey that laid the foundations

[[{"fid":"8595","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":466,"width":349,"style":"width: 172px; height: 230px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

  • The model of the nineteenth-century merchant, Jaime Torres traveled to Cuba and, upon his return, he and his brother Miguel founded Bodegas Torres in 1870. The company began exporting wines from the Penedès to Cuba, and other countries soon followed. The seed had been planted.

JUAN TORRES CASALS (1865 - 1932)

1928: Betting on brandy, a winning move

[[{"fid":"8596","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":154,"width":154,"class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

  • When Juan Torres took over the company, it marked a turning point and a step forward, the impact of which can still be felt today: Bodegas Torres registered its first brands, and, in 1928, the winery began making brandy.

  • Juan Torres was a tireless fighter who carried on the winery's legacy amid turbulent times: in 1920, the war for independence unleashed an economic and social crisis in Cuba that almost decimated the winery's credit capacity.

MIGUEL TORRES CARBÓ (1909 - 1991)

The fortitude and vision of a brilliant businessman

[[{"fid":"8600","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":423,"width":808,"style":"width: 400px; height: 209px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

Like his predecessor, Miguel Torres Carbó faced challenging times. And like his predecessor, he overcame them successfully and emerged stronger because of it. The same is true for the winery.

  • He helmed the company during the Spanish Civil War when, in 1939, the winery became the accidental target of air raids. The bombs were meant for the neighboring train station, but ended up destroying most of the winery's facilities. Miguel Torres threw himself into the rebuilding effort.

  • Within a year, the winery was back on its feet, its foundations more solid than ever, and Torres began bottling wines, which would reinforce and revitalize its exports.

  • Torres Carbó was also responsible for creating the winery's great timeless classics, which are known around the world.

MIGUEL AGUSTÍN TORRES RIERA (current president)

An era of innovation, bold decisions and ecological awareness

[[{"fid":"8598","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":383,"width":496,"style":"width: 250px; height: 193px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

Driven by curiosity and a desire to modernize winegrowing and winemaking techniques, Miguel A. Torres arrived on the Spanish—and later Chilean—wine scene and brought about changes that benefitted the entire industry.

  • The result of Miguel A. Torres's exceptional talent and curiosity was a bold wine that broke with the predominant winemaking tradition of the time: Mas La Plana. It represented his vision for the Cabernet Sauvignon vines he had planted in 1966 on the eponymous estate.

  • At the 1979 Wine Olympics in Paris, organized by the trade magazine Gault & Millau, Mas La Plana 1970 beat all of the world's most acclaimed Cabernets. This marked the birth of a legendary wine that is a tangible reflection of its author's determination. It went on to win more international awards than any other Spanish wine and put the Penedès region on the winemaking map.

  • The mind and driving force behind the Torres & Earth program, his ecological awareness has made him the finest ambassador imaginable for the Earth, the vineyard and the environment.

“The land is our livelihood. We live for and because of it. We owe this to the generations that learned to listen to the Earth, to understand and respect it. Our land represents a direct link to these generations: a great legacy, but a challenge and a responsibility above all else.”

  • Today Miguel A. Torres is the face of an entire industry that has honored him with accolades throughout his long career. He and his wife Waltraud Maczassek, his greatest ally, have spent a lifetime together.

  • His sister Marimar, who has her own winery in California, and his brother Juan María are the winery's vice presidents.

MIGUEL Y MIREIA TORRES MACZASSEK (the 5th generation)

Backed by a great legacy, they face an exciting future

[[{"fid":"8599","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":395,"width":591,"style":"width: 300px; height: 201px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

Miguel, as General Manager of the family winery, and Mireia as Director of the Innovation and Knowledge Department, of Jean Leon, and President of the Miguel Torres Foundation, are responsible for carrying on the good name of a winery and a family who have contributed to the modernization of the sector and for leadership that values the working and love of the land.

  • Working tirelessly to create new low production wines of exceptional quality, which emphasize varietal expression, the distinctiveness of the vineyards and a singular sense of place.

  • The driving force behind the project to recover ancestral grape varieties initiated by their father, establishing a rigorous methodology to identify varieties rescued from obscurity and then purify, propagate and adapt them to growing areas, taking note of their organoleptic value and enological interest in order to contribute to recovering the richness of Catalan vine-growing heritage.

  • They are responsible for the first sparkling wine made by the family in Catalonia, Esplendor de Vardon Kennett, as well as showing the value of Chile’s oldest grape variety “País”.

  • They remain committed to the environment, adopting different measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change and commitment to society, with projects protecting children through the Miguel Torres Foundation and the Fair Trade certification in the range of Santa Digna wines (Chile).

Bodegas Torres was, is and always will be a family-owned and self-financed winery. In control of its own destiny, the winery embraces the present with enthusiasm while looking ahead to the future. This is why the winery reinvests 95% of profits into optimizing its resources, innovating, and bringing the industry's finest professionals on board. Our team is the backbone of our company, its main source of strength, the engine that drives us.

Related content