Leading Spanish Producer Miguel Torres will start producing Cava in the Penedes wine region.
Miguel Torres: ‘there should be space for niche producers’
Torres – which owns wine estates in Spain, Chile, California and distributes wine throughout China – has for many years insisted that the company had no desire to produce sparkling wine under the Cava DO.
However, CEO Miguel Torres Maczassek told Decanter.com Torres has decided to produce Cava after being encouraged by the success of its sparkling wines from Chile.
‘We have gained good experience over the past couple of years in Chile,’ he said
Torres makes a Chilean Fair Trade rosé sparkling called Santa Digna Estelado, produced from the Pais grape.
‘The Cava project fits into our strategy of covering almost all high quality wine regions of Spain and to keep surprising consumers with new products; it’s in the DNA of our company,’ he said.
The announcement by Torres comes at a time when several wineries, including Raventos I Blanc, have abandoned the Cava DO out of frustration with the poor brand image of Cava and low price points.
Miguel Torres Maczassek nonetheless confirmed his commitment to working inside the DO framework.
‘I believe that there should be space for niche producers and the ones with higher volumes within the appellation – the Cava DO in general plays an important role. Today’s world of wine – including sparkling wine – is a global marketplace and is important to show specific attributes and differences to consumers,’ he told Decanter.com.
Torres’ communication manager Christoph Kammuller confirmed that the company plans to release its first Cava vintage in 2015.
According to Kammuller, the specific vineyards, blend, price or brand name of the new wine have not been decided. They will be disclosed in 2014 ‘at the earliest’, he said.
Written by James Lawrence
