Miguel A. Torres (born 1941) is a Spanish winemaker, author and businessman. He is President and Managing Director of

Bodegas Torres Founded in 1870 by Jaime Torres, Bodegas Torres (''Miguel Torres'' SA) is a historical wine growing company located in Pacs, some from Vilafranca del Penedès, where the company has its head office. Torres is the family winery with the most ex ...

, and is a member of the fourth generation of this family business. He also manages the company’s vineyards in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and collaborates with his sister Marimar Torres in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life

In 1957, he started his degree in Chemical Sciences at the University of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, two years later transferring to the University of Dijon (

Bourgogne Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

), where he specialised in

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. In 1962, he joined the family business, of which he is currently President and Managing Director. Five years after joining the company he married Waltraud Maczassek, a painter and fine arts graduate, who from the very first has collaborated with the company in sales management on the German market. In 1982-1983 he extended his viticulture and oenology studies at the University of Montpellier (France), having taken a sabbatical year.

Writings on wines

Miguel A. Torres has published various books about the world of wine. His first book, ''Viñas y Vinos'', (''Vineyards and Wines'') is currently in its fourth edition in Spanish, revised and updated by Plaza y Janes in 1993 and translated into Catalan, French, English, German, Norwegian, Finnish and Japanese. This first effort was followed by ''Vino español, un incierto futuro'' (''Spanish Wine, an Uncertain Future'') (1979); ''Manual de los vinos de Cataluña'' (''Manual of Catalan Wines'') (1982); ''Los vinos de España'' (''The Wines of Spain'') (1983); ''Guía Folio de los Vinos de España'' (''Guide sheet to Spanish Wines'') (1985); and ''Els Vins del Penedès'' (''Wines of the Penedès'') (1987). Likewise he also edited ''Enciclopedia del Vino'' (''Encyclopaedia of Wine'') for the editorial Orbis.

Bibliography

*''Viñas y vinos'' (''Vineyards and Wines''), Plaza & Janés Editores, 1996. *''Els vins del Penedès'' (''Wines of the Penedès''), Nuevo Arte Thor, 1987. *''Los vinos de España'' (''The Wines of Spain''), Ediciones Castell, 1983. *Vino español: un incierto futuro (''Spanish Wine, an Uncertain Future''), Editorial Blume, 1979. *''Manual de los vinos de Cataluña'' (''Manual of Catalan Wines'') (1982) *''Guía Folio de los vinos de España'' (''Guide Sheet to Spanish Wines'') (1985)

Awards

*In 1996 the government of Chile awarded him the Bernardo O’Higgins Order, Grand Officier, in acknowledgement for services towards the improvement of relations between Chile and Spain, as well as contribution to vinicultural development in Chile. *In 2002 the magazine ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equ ...

'' selected him as “Decanter Man of the Year 2002”. *In 2005 he received the Personality of the Year award by the magazine ''Wine International''.

References

External links