Bodegas Torres: President TORRES FAMILY
President of Familia Torres
Miguel Agustín Torres is the president of Familia Torres and a member of the fourth generation leading this winemaking company founded in 1870 in Vilafranca del Penedès. Trained as an oenologist, he joined the family business in 1962. He played a key role in modernizing the Spanish wine industry by introducing winemaking techniques such as cold fermentation, cultivating international grape varieties, and crafting exceptional wines like Mas La Plana, which won its first vintage in 1970 at the Wine Olympics, Milmanda, and Grans Muralles. In 1979, he established a winery in Chile, and in the early 1980s, he initiated the recovery of ancestral Catalan grape varieties—a project now strongly driven by his children.
In 1991, he assumed the presidency of the company after the passing of his father. His commitment to ecology and concern for climate change led him to create the Torres & Earth environmental program in 2008, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and adapt to the new climate scenario. In 2019, he co-founded the International Wineries for Climate Action association with the Californian winery Jackson Family Wines, leading efforts to decarbonize the sector.
Miguel Agustín Torres is the author of several books on viticulture, including 'Viñas y vinos,' published in 1977, and 'Vino español: un incierto futuro,' released a year later. Among the various recognitions he has received over the years, noteworthy are the award from the Chilean government in 1996—the "Bernardo O'Higgins" Order for his contribution to the wine development of Chile—and being chosen as Man of the Year by the prestigious Decanter magazine in 2002. His most recent recognition was in 2022 when the government honored him with the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Food Merit in acknowledgment of his involvement in the wine industry and his environmental commitment.
Married to Waltraud Maczassek, who led exports to Germany for 25 years, the couple has three children: Miguel, CEO of Familia Torres, Mireia, Director of Innovation and Knowledge, and Jean Leon Winery, and Ana, a doctor in plastic surgery.
