World famous wine estate with headquarters in Villafranca del Penedès in the DO Penedès (Catalonia) in Spain. It was founded by Jaime Torres in 1870. His nephew and successor Juan Torres expanded the business, Juan’s son Miguel Torres took over the reins in 1932. He travelled to North and South America in the 1940’s, promoting his wines, and thereby establishing the name. Production was changed from bulk wines to bottled wines in the 1950’s. In 1959, Miguel A. Torres I., the fourth generation of the family, took over the business. He had previously sutdied oenology and chemistry in Dijon in Burgundy/France. He introduced European varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, with experimental plantings on selected sites. He was also the first in the region to introduce wire trellising systems, instead of the traditional single-pole trellis. Following the death of his father, Miguel Augustin Torres II. took over the business in 1991. Today the estate has a total vineyard area of more than 2.100 hectares. In addition, large quantities of grapes are bought in. The winery is considered to be one of the most modern in the world, and was the first in Catalonia to introduce stainless steel tanks. Around 20.000 barriques are available for maturation of the wines. More than 100 largely unknown indigenous varieties are planted, and used on an experimental basis. The estate has increasingly tended towards organic vineyard practices since the mid-1980’s. The international reputation of the company is founded on its innovative spirit, always ready to experiment, on unusual methods of vinification, sophisticated amrketing strategies and rigorous quality control. All this caused no less than a revolution in Catalonian viticulture. The estate is a member of the PFV (Primum Familiae Vini) association of family wine estates.
A wide range of outstanding red and white wines is produced, those from individual vineyard sites are considered to be the best. The top white wines, among others, are the Gran Viña Sol (85% Chardonnay, 15% Parellada, three months in barrique), Milmanda (Chardonnay from a specific vineyard site), Viña Esmeralda (85% Muscat, 15% Gewürztraminer), Viña Sol (Parellada), Waltraud (Riesling, named after the German-borb wife of Miguel Augustin). Top red wines are, for example, the Gran Sangre de Toro (70% Garnacha, 30% Cariñena), Grans Muralles (Monastrell, Garnacha Tinta, Garró, Samsó), Mas Borras (Pinot Noir from a specific vineyard site), Sangre de Toro (65% Garnacha, 35% Cariñena), Gran Coronas (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Tempranillo), Mas la Plana (Cabernet Sauvignon from a specific vineyard site), Viña Las Torres (Merlot), Viña Magdala (85% Pinot Noir, 15% Tempranillo).Around a third of production is exported, mainly to the USA and to the Scandinavian countries.
The Viña Maquehua estate was founded south of Curicó in Cile in 1978. Stainless steel tanks and barriques were introduced here, for the first time in Chile. The vineyards in the Valle de Curicó have a total area of 230 hectares. The area is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Three labels are produced, Don Miguel, Santa Digna and Manso de Velasco. Sparkling wine is also produced. The Marimar Torres Estate was founded in Sebastopol in California in 1983. It is run by Marimar Torres, the sister of Miguel Torres. The vineyards have a total area of 19 hectares, located in the Russian River Valley. Wines are made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 1995, Torres acquired the famous Jean León wine estate in the DO Penedès region. In China, the Great Wall Torres Winery was establsihed in 1997.
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