Familia Torres is still rated the most admired wine brand in Europe, according to the survey of wine professionals carried out every year by the British magazine Drinks International, this year produced in cooperation with the market research company Wine Intelligence. This confirms the Penedès family winery’s position at the head of the European rankings, where it has remained throughout the nine years the list has been compiled. This year, though, it gives up top position in the world, which it has occupied four times, to the Australian winemaker Penfolds.

The long-awaited list of The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands 2019 was released on Sunday, 17 March, at Prowein, the important wine trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. Miguel Torres Maczassek, General Manager and fifth generation of Familia Torres, picked up the award from the managing editor of Drinks International, Christian Davis, at an event attended by 150 people, including winery owners, journalists and other professionals in the wine industry. “We feel very honored that wine professionals have placed their trust in us. As a family winery, this is recognition of the effort of the many people who work to ensure that our wines faithfully transmit their origin and unique nature every year while contributing to preserving our natural environment and fighting climate change,” he said.

According to Drinks International, the aspects most mentioned by participants in the survey when voting for Familia Torres’ are the winery’s quality and environmental commitment, together with knowledge of the brand among consumers. One of them said: “Torres manages to always stay true to its brand with heritage and authentic values, but combines this with on-trend innovation to remain a leader in the global wine category.”

Penfolds and Familia Torres, the two wineries that lead the world ranking of the 50 most admired brands this year, are followed by Villa Maria from New Zealand, Concha y Toro from Chile and M. Chapoutier from France. France is the most represented country, with 15 brands, followed by Australia, with eight, while Spain has only five, although four of these are in the top 15 brands.

Wine professionals in 48 countries have taken part in this year’s voting. They were asked to choose the five wine brands they most admire taking into account criteria like quality, expression of the wine’s origins and grape variety, and presentation.

You can read the World’s Most Admired Wine Brands 2019 report here.