Miguel Torres Estelado Rosé Sparkling Pais

Miguel Torres Estelado Rosé is a sparkling rosé wine made from 100% Pais grapes. It is also a Fair Trade / Fair for Life wine. It is currently the only sparkling wine in the world made from Pais grapes.

Familia Torres Wines has had operations in Chile since 1979 when the company acquired a small wine in Curico in the Chilean central Valley and was one of the first foreign firms to invest in the country. The original 100 hectares bought in 1979 has now grown, some thirty years later to 445 hectares of vineyards all owned by Torres Chile. Since 2010 Miguel Torres Chile has been directed by Miguel Torres Maczassek, a fifth-generation Torres winemaker who moved to Chile with his family to maintain the tradition and passion for winemaking that the Torres family has demonstrated all these years.

The Pais grape variety is an ancient grape variety that was originally taken to South America by the Spanish Conquistadores over 500 years ago. In Spain, this variety was known as Listan Negro and later became known as Misión before being called Pais in Chile. Pais remained popular in Chile until the mid-nineteenth century when French grape varieties became prevalent. Much of the Pais was dug up and replaced with other grape varieties or made into cheap jug or bulk wine for domestic consumption but, thanks to Miguel Torres Chile, it is now undergoing a revival as a great grape variety for producing sparkling rosé. There are still some 15,000 hectares of Pais planted.

Miguel Torres Estelado Rosé is made using the traditional method with secondary fermentation in the bottle. The wine is aged for 12 months on the less to add further creaminess and texture to the palate.

This is a Fair Trade / Fair for Life wine project set up in 2007 and co-financed by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture, through the Fundación para la Innovación Agraria (Foundation for Agrarian Innovation). The objective of the project is to improve conditions for the farmers of the arid interior regions of Maule and Bíobío.