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Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. Main Office 630 3rd Ave Adminstration 60 Avon Meadow
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 Family
In Cuba he established a solid financial base from where he was to found
Bodegas Torres. Nine years overseas were enough for him to generate a
small fortune with which he returned to Penedès in 1870 to found
"Torres & Co" alongside his brother Miguel.
While his brother Jaime was away in Cuba, Miguel Torres Vendrell worked equally hard looking after the vineyards in Catalonia that had been in family hands since the 18th century. When his brother Jaime returned from Cuba, in 1870, they founded Bodegas Torres. These were years of extremely hard work during which time he was able, alongside his brother, Jaime, to promote the Torres brand overseas. Wines were exported to Cartagena de Indias, Santiago de Cuba, Veracuz, Bremen, Hamburg and St. Petersburg. A calm-natured and persevering man, he soon saw his efforts recognised by the prizes awarded to Torres wines in exhibitions in Philadelphia (1876), Paris (1878) and Barcelona (1888). With his brother, Miguel, he lived through the heady days of Barcelona's
modernist (modernisme) era. This was the era of Gaudí and of Barcelona's
great commercial and exploratory successes. This atmosphere gave Torres
wines the role they deserved within a society that appreciated the art
of good living.
Juan Torres Casals, a third generation member of the family, was the principal driving force behind the company's brandy distilling. It was he who in 1928, began ageing brandies in oak barrels so as to make a high quality, mature reserve brandy. Juan Torres was also responsible for maintaining international sales and for consolidating domestic sales within Spain. His work was recognised on receiving several awards at the International Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929. Thanks to his efforts customers today ask for Torres 5 or Torres 10 almost
as a reflex reaction when ordering a quality brandy at a restaurant. The
brand has become a byword for quality.
Miguel Torres Carbó, a man whose love for his vines was clear for all to see, was a tremendously likable person with great tenacity and determination. It was he who became the greatest promoter of Torres wines and brandies world-wide. Although he suffered the crises provoked by the Civil War and the Second World War, he was able to rebuild the Torres family holdings destroyed and damaged with great determination. He extended the vineyards and began bottling his own wines, creating
the well-known brands Viña Sol, Gran Viña Sol, Sangre de
Toro, Coronas and Viña Esmeralda. His business acumen is today remembered in so many anecdotes, like the one that tells of how a young Miguel Torres, during his honeymoon in the USA, took advantage of the opportunity to show and sell his first bottles there. Miguel Torres returned to Spain with firm customers in the USA, who would
form an important element in the later expansion of the company.
Miguel A. Torres, the current president of the company, his sister Marimar and his brother Juan María, both vice-presidents, have remained linked to the fascinating world of wine. They are every bit as entrepreneurial and adventurous as their forefathers, adapting Torres's mission to modern times. As a result of their efforts Torres is more alive throughout the world today than ever before. The Torres brand is totally consolidated as a symbol of prestige and
quality. What is more, the company is established as a producer of quality
wines in Spain and America, where it has wineries in Chile and California. Chile also has a special place in the Torres family history. With dedication
and perspicacity the family were able to locate a space for themselves
among soils where Phylloxera does not affect vines. Torres were pioneers
in Chile, the first foreign company to dare invest inwardly in Chile,
the first to bet on this land as a winemaking paradise. Their faith in
Chile has borne fruit. Today they make exquisite and special wines there,
wines that are well placed within both a South American and a World context.
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home
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Jaime
Torres Vendrell
Miguel
Torres Vendrell 
Juan
Torres Casals
Miguel
Torres Carbó
The
Heirs of Miguel Torres Carbó
