Category: Culture

On April 15, a group of 29 students from the Escola d’Enoturisme de Catalunya visited the Jean Leon winery as part of the first Erasmus+ programme hosted by the school.
The activity was attended by Italian teachers and representatives from the Istituto Istruzione Superiore Ciuffelli-Einaudi, a leading institution in the wine and tourism sectors, who were interested in learning first-hand about the educational model of the Escola d’Enoturisme and its close collaboration with companies in the industry.
During the visit, key aspects of wine tourism were explored, with a particular focus on:

• The organisation and structure of a wine tourism department.
• Branding strategies applied to wineries and wine tourism projects.
• The use of social media as a tool for communication and positioning.

The session was highly participatory and dynamic, allowing students to connect the theoretical content covered in the classroom with a real-world case. This hands-on approach was particularly well received by the students, who were able to see how concepts such as wine tourism experience management, brand storytelling and visitor service are implemented on a day-to-day basis.
The visit to Jean Leon is part of the collaboration programme that the Familia Torres Foundation maintains with various hospitality and sommelier schools across the country, with the aim of bringing winemaking excellence closer to students, supporting them in their development and recognising talent from the very beginning of their careers.

Last Monday a charity tasting and dinner took place in Valencia organised by the Association of Sommeliers and Oenophiles of Valencia (ASEV) led by Mireia Torres.

For the tasting we had a full house, 50 people who enjoyed Vardon Kennett, Pazo Torre Penelas, Jean Leon Vinya Gigi, Marimar Mas Cavalls, Salmos and Jean Leon Le Heavre Magnum from 1998. Among the attendees were well-known sommeliers such as Paco (Bga Biosca and president of ASEV), Abi (Sommelier of Hotel Westin), Olena (Sommelier of Rest Perfumería/Palacio Balier, MYR Hotels Group) and Marilu (Sommelier Trainer), among others.

After the tasting, a charity dinner was held, the funds raised from which went to the Mira’m Foundation (Valencian Community Association of autistic children), focusing on supporting those affected by DANA. During the event, our wines and spirits were offered.

It is important to highlight that the Familia Torres Foundation has doubled the amount raised, which will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial for this group.

A night of many feelings on the surface, where the public needed to take distance from the recent events that had occurred.

Next Friday, September 27, at 8:00 p.m., the historic Alfonso XIII nave will once again be the setting for a literary event. This time, it will be a poetry recital in which three authors will participate (Anna Tomàs, Stefano M. Cingolani and Xavier Zambrano), within the framework of the “La Vila en Vers” festival.

After working as a prescriptor through her literary blog and collaborating with various regional media or with El Matí Digital and reciting other people’s poems, Anna Tomás from Vilafranca has decided to make her own, as yet unpublished, poetic work known. Stefano M. Cingolani (Rome, 1956) will speak next. He has a PhD in Romance Philology from the University of La Sapienza and is the author of a dozen studies on medieval Catalan history and literature, including a biography of Peter the Great, the critical edition of Lo Somni by Bernat Metge and Sant Jordi, a millennial legend. Cingolani, who has been living in Vilafranca since 2021, is the author of the poetry collections Lo veo por la voz (2019) and Mendigo (2024). The evening will be closed by the translator and poet Xavier Zambrano, who was awarded the Josep Maria López Picó de Vallirana prize for his latest poetry collection Duró (2017).

At the end of the presentation, a glass of wine will be served and books by the authors will be available for purchase. We invite you to attend.

Last Tuesday, September 26, the historic Alfonso XIII ship was the setting for the celebration of a literary event. On this occasion, it was a poetry recital in which three authors (Mireia Calafell, Antoni Clapés and Corina Oproae) participated, within the framework of the “La Vila en Vers” festival.

Mireia Calafell (Barcelona, 1980) has published several award-winning books such as Poètiques del cos (Galerada, 2006), Costures (Viena Ediciones, 2010) and Tantes mudes (Periférico Ediciones, 2014). In 2019 she won the Mallorca Poetry Prize with the collection of poems Nosaltres, qui (La Breu, 2020). Antoni Clapés (Sabadell, 1948) is, in addition to being a poet, translator, editor of Café central for more than thirty years and promoter of several projects in the field of visual arts. In the field of poetry, Clapés has published more than twenty titles, the last of which is Clars, aquest matí, són els teus records (La Breu, 2020), a compilation of his most notable works in which he reflects about language, silence and poetry. Finally, Corina Oproae (Fagaras, Romania, 1973), also a poet and translator who has lived in Catalonia since 1998, has published A Thousand and One Deaths (La Grúa, 2016), Intermitencias (Editorial Sabina, 2018), Temprana Eternidad (Book Hunt , 2019) La mà que tremola (Balbec, 2020) and Desde donde amar (Pre-textos, 2021).

At the Familia Torres Foundation we support culture and art, being one of our priority areas of action, collaborating with cultural entities to bring culture and its benefits to the majority of the population.

After the recital, attendees were able to enjoy a glass of wine.

The social entity ACTUA Coop is celebrating the II Solidarity March this Sunday, May 21. This second edition is presented as a circular route to facilitate the free circulation of the participants when the march ends.

The march will leave at 9 a.m. in Assumpció Domènech square in Vilafranca del Penedès and from 11 a.m. activities will begin in this same square.
Registration includes breakfast (sausage or cheese sandwich), gifts, participation in the raffle for various gifts and a series of fun activities for children and adults.

In the middle of the route, the vendors will make a small stop in the garden of the Visitor Center where we will prepare a small snack with fruit, water and cookies for the little ones.

This march can be done by walking or by bicycle, alone or with the family, with or without a dog, … Everyone can participate as they feel most comfortable!

If you are interested, you can register at https://www.ticketic.org/ca/entrades/ii-marxa-solid-ria

From the Fundación Familia Torres we collaborate with ACTUA in its Espai Familiar project, providing extra psychological support to boys and girls who live temporarily in the CRAE Toni Inglés.

The residential educational action centers (CRAE) have as their social function to help and education to those minors who are in a family situation with serious problems, which cannot be resolved in this family environment.

On February 7, the second solidarity dinner organized by Mans Unides was held at the Semproniana restaurant run by chef Ada Parellada. All the dinner dishes were cooked with food discarded from the commercial circuit that, if not used for this dinner, would have been wasted.

A total of 75 people attended, including the Minister of Social Affairs of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Director of Cooperation of the Barcelona City Council, as well as members and friends of the entity.

Everyone was able to taste the wines that were donated from the Familia Torres Foundation, specifically Jean Leon Xarel·lo for the first course and Atrium Merlot for the second.

The collection obtained was 2,806 euros, which will be used to buy food for the Syrian population affected by the terrible earthquakes, which have left thousands of people homeless. This contribution is added to the €40,000 that have already been sent from the headquarters of Manos Unidas for emergency aid due to the earthquake.

“After the devastating earthquake, with its epicenter in southern Turkey, which took place in the early hours of Monday, February 6, and which has left thousands dead, injured and missing in the south of the country and in the north of neighboring Syria , Manos Unidas has been in direct and permanent contact with its local partners in Aleppo, one of the Syrian cities hardest hit by the earthquake.”

If you are interested in making private donations, you can do so through the website https://colabora.manosunidas.org

This December, the social entity BarcelonActua celebrates 10 years since its creation.

BarcelonActua is a project that was born with a clear vision: to create a socially cohesive Barcelona, ​​sensitive, supportive and involved in the social reality that surrounds it. A united Barcelona that, in the short and medium term, contributes to avoiding social exclusion and that, in the long term, allows us to enjoy the privilege of living in a city that is internationally benchmark in terms of citizen social responsibility.

In the act of celebration, a tour of the history of the foundation was made through its main milestones, told by the beneficiaries themselves and representatives of the collaborating entities.

This is how the work of the Torres Family Foundation, an entity that has supported BarcelonActua for five years, became evident. Mireia Torres, president of the foundation, had the opportunity to share our experience with those present.

Although our beginnings were specific, focused on young people and women in vulnerable situations who did not have the resources to access university or training courses, our relationship has intensified over the last few years until we became part of the BAC family.

In recent years we have prioritized the Women of the World program, with the aim of generating opportunities for women in vulnerable situations, most of them single mothers, empowering them through the creation of an intimate and comfortable space where they can share experiences and help each other. In this space, they also share tools and resources to access training courses, job offers and language improvement.

This 2021 our contribution has allowed us to grow and offer the Families of the World program, supporting more than 70 families. Through volunteers, 18 children have been offered school support online and 16 face-to-face, food aid to all families and coaching to 50 women: 28 of them have attended language classes and 25 have started professional training with excellent results. 7 of them already have a stable job! Among them, Yolanda (appears in the photo), beneficiary in 2019 and 2020 of a scholarship to improve employability financed by the Torres family Foundation, who has created her own business!

On April 25, the poet from Vilafranca del Penedès Santi Borrell presented his new book, a study on the vineyard and wine of the Penedès of the last 170 years.

With this work, Santi gives us an historical account of almost 170 years, detailed and careful, which helps us to remember where we come from and to value our history and our legacy.

The presentation was held at the Consell Comarcal de l’Alt Penedès, whose table was chaired by the representatives of the institutions that have collaborated with the book such as the DO Penedès, Enoturisme Penedès, Ajuntament de Vilafranca and the Familia Torres Foundation.

Mireia Torres, as president of Familia Torres Foundation, made participants participate in the priorities of the Foundation: helping children, contributing to improving the health of vulnerable groups, promoting the empowerment of women, supporting culture and helping to areas affected by natural disasters.

The Familia Torres Foundation has collaborated with the publication of Santi Borrell’s work on our beloved Penedès.