Miguel A. Torres, president of Bodegas Torres, recently took over the presidency of the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), replacing Christian Barre, who in a few months shortened his mandate to occupy new responsibilities within the Pernod Ricard group as CEO of Havana Club International in Cuba.
Torres, who until now occupied the first vice-presidency of the organization and the area of internationalization, assumed the presidency after the celebration on July 18th of an Extraordinary General Assembly in which he was elected to take up this position.
During the Extraordinary Assembly, Emilio Restoy was also chosen as the new first vice president, who will also continue to lead the Marketing, Communication and CSR area of FEV. Restoy is a Chemical Engineer and Master in Business Administration from IESE and UCLA Anderson School. Since 2010 he is CEO of the Diego Zamora Group, where he has held various responsibilities in the commercial areas of the company.
The organic changes are completed with the appointment of Marc Grin, general director of Bodegas Murviedro, as new Vice President of Internationalization, while Javier Pagés will continue as second vice president.
For his part, Nicolas Krantz will replace Barré as president and CEO of Pernod Ricard Bodegas, as well as joining as a member of the Executive Committee of FEV.
In his first words at the head of the FEV, Miguel A. Torres, has reviewed the main challenges that the bodeguera organization will have to face in the short and medium term.
The new president has stressed the importance of continuing to advocate a specific treatment for wine, promote advertising self-regulation to collaborate with public health policies, and defend its moderate consumption
While at the international level he has advocated making wine a priority in trade negotiations and working to remove barriers to trade through globalization.
Torres stressed the importance of continuing to work, within the Interprofessional Wine, to launch the first major national campaign that contributes to the recovery of wine consumption in Spain
Outgoing President Christian Barré thanked all the partners, the members of the Executive Committee and the management team of the FEV for their commitment and dedication in these years, which have made it possible to take a significant turn The organization and strengthen its credibility in the wine sector in Spain.
A life dedicated to wine
Miguel A. Torres belongs to the fourth generation of a family of Penedés dedicated to the elaboration and distribution of quality wines and brandies for almost 150 years. In 1962, after studying winemaking and viticulture at the University of Dijon (Burgundy), he joined the family business, Bodegas Torres, which he presides over.
At the beginning of the 80’s, after his time at the University of Montpellier, he started a project to recover ancestral grape varieties that are strongly promoting the fifth generation, with his son Miguel as general manager and his daughter Mireia as director of I + D + i, in addition to experimenting with new winemaking techniques to improve the quality of wines.
It is also known its concern for the environment, intensified since 2007 before the verification of climate change and its effects on the wine sector
In addition to his activity as head of the company, with an international presence in more than 150 countries and a staff of more than 1,300 employees, in 1977 he published his first book on the world of wine, ‘Viñas y vinos’, which has been translated into Several languages and followed by four others.
Source: FEV
