Miguel Torres determined the vector of development of winemaking of two wine-making superpowers, Spain and Chile

On the morning of November 11, 2011, residents of the Moscow office center “Red Hills” could see a lean man of about seventy running along the snow-covered embankment. The elderly athlete was Miguel Torres, the man who determined the vector of development of winemaking in two wine-making superpowers, Spain and Chile. At the end of his seventh decade, he decided to refresh his impressions of Russia and began to learn the Russian language. He does not pursue pragmatic goals, considering a foreign language to be excellent gymnastics for the brain. Since he already knows other major European languages (plus Chinese and Japanese), he considers Russian an unfilled niche.

Miguel Torres is a fourth generation hereditary winemaker. When the time came to return home after university, his father already needed a worthy successor. But the older brother decided to go into another business, and the choice fell on 21-year-old Miguel. This is how the first accident in his life, as it seems to him to this day, happened, predetermined his entire fate.

In the 1960s, the Torres family's home region of Penedes was the main source of grapes for cava, a Spanish sparkling wine produced using the classical method. Torres recalls that the surest way to increase the value of wine in the eyes of the consumer was to put a new label on the bottle with the inscription Reserva or Gran Reserva and keep the wine in warehouses for an extra year or two. To surprise anyone, new wines were needed. And the young winemaker, who had previously studied in strict France, decided to plant French grape varieties in his homeland.

Torres's natural powers of observation allowed him to notice that the vineyards that were focused on the production of cava were located in the cooler areas of Penedes, on the slopes and away from the coast. And for high-quality red wines, which no one except Jean Leon made in Penedes at that time, completely different areas were needed - warm and sunny. Miguel found them - so in 1966, the Torres house bought a vineyard, which today everyone considers one of the best cru of Penedès, Mas la Plana.

Torres began making cabernet sauvignon here, and it turned out surprisingly good - so much so that it turned into its own wine, called Gran Coronas Black Label Mas La Plana. It was this wine from the 1970 harvest, according to Miguel, that was “accidentally” selected for participation in the 1979 Paris Wine Olympics by the French importer of Torres. This is how accident number two arose. Mas La Plana was first in its category, ahead of Chateau Lafite and several other great Bordeaux grands cru. The tasting, organized by Gault Millau magazine, featured 330 wines from 33 countries, and was judged by 62 wine experts from 10 countries.

Over time, Mas La Plana became the first wine in Torres' top Pagos line. But before the brilliant parade of Spanish terroir wines, Miguel Torres had to open America to the world. And, according to his story, again by accident. After the death of dictator Franco at the end of 1975, Miguel's father, who supported the Republicans, was unsure of his future. Life taught him caution: during the civil war he was wounded twice and even ended up in a concentration camp. To protect his son, he sent him to the United States to look at opportunities for winemaking. Driven by a thirst for adventure, Miguel traveled first to California, then to Argentina and finally to Chile. What he saw in the latter country impressed him so much that a decision was made quickly.

The Chilean government recognized Miguel's contribution by awarding him the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins in 1996. And his Chilean wines have won gold medals at various competitions since the 1980s.

Torres has two grown children. The daughter is an oenologist, the son is a marketing specialist. Despite the tradition of passing the business on to the son, the family decides who to make the heir. “Both are good so far,” says their father. - And we look at them carefully. We don’t want to trust chance.”

The Spaniard who created the wine legend