He is a man who had an ideal for the region: a visionary determined to produce one of the best sparkling wines with the grape varieties and special characteristics of his local area.
Agustí Torelló Mata's legacy, inseparable from the Penedès winemaking tradition, has been to forge his own way of doing things. Faithful to our origins, Celler Kripta’s cavas are the authentic interpretation of a path that stretches back 45 years.
CAVA
MAN
Agustí Torelló Mata was born in 1935 in the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia into a family of musicians and tailors. At the age of 13, he left school and began working with his uncle in the world of cava. After various winemaking courses, he went to Requena to obtain the title of Master Winemaker and Vinegrower, setting off on a professional path that would lead him to be recognised as one of the best winemakers in the country.
In 1960 he married Carmen Sibill, also from Sant Sadurní, and they formed a family that would always revolve around cava. An excellent cook, she is the perfect host for all the wine friends constantly dropping by the house and provides quiet support for all her husband's initiatives.
DETERMINED ADVOCATE
OF CAVA: THE VALUE OF THE GROUP
A tireless traveller, every year he organises trips to wine regions which he visits with a group of winemakers and entrepreneurs from El Penedès: California, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, China, Australia, Israel, Hungary, Germany, Italy, France and more. There isn't an area of the world where there are sparkling wines that he doesn’t visit and discover personally.
In the 1970s, Agustí Torelló Mata was Cava Man! His many interests, his personality and the expertise he has acquired over the years have earned him recognition in the sector. He held the Presidency of the Catalan Association of Winemakers for 12 years and in 1979 he founded the Cava Brotherhood, which he presided over until 1993 and which is crucial for promoting and generally publicising cava. All kinds of illustrious personalities were involved with the Brotherhood: the President of the European Commission, Gaston Thorn; the Mayor of Los Angeles, the President of the International Olympic Committee, the soprano Montserrat Caballé, Prince Felipe de Borbón (now King of Spain), the Duchess of Alba, and a long list of names from all professional and cultural fields. It was time to establish an image and a common brand for cava.
In 1984, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture awarded Torelló the first Gold Medal for merit in winemaking. In May 1992, the mayor of Épernay invited him to preside over the prestigious Champagne trade fair . It was the first time a Spaniard had presided over the fair. In 1993, the Government of Catalonia awarded him the Medal of Agricultural Merit. Meanwhile, 1978 saw his great personal achievement: Kripta cava, innovating in the market with an amphora-shaped bottle and boldly ageing the wine for five years, making him the pioneer of long-aged cava. Ten years later he opened a new winery on the outskirts of Sant Sadurní and, together with his children, consolidated it as one of the great cava houses.
1953
1960
1978
1979
1984
1986
1993
1994
2012
2015
2024
THE IMPETUS
OF THE SECOND
GENERATION
Since 2012, the sister and brother partnership Gemma and Àlex Torelló have run the winery, consolidating it throughout Spain and continuing to expand into the international market while boosting the positioning of their wines and cavas among the sparkling wines with the greatest prestige and character.
After completing his studies in vine-growing and winemaking, in 1991, Àlex Torelló joined the winery as winemaker and worked with his father to consolidate the brand's expertise, producing a whole range of long-aged cavas rooted in El Penedès.
Gemma Torelló joined the management of the company in 2006 after 20 years’ experience as a lawyer specialising in European wine law and having published the only legal book in the sector: “El Cava en la EEC” (Cava in the EEC).
In 2022, the third generation joined the company: Marc Torelló in vine-growing and winemaking, and Sofia Torelló in exports and public relations, collecting the testimony of the family’s roots.
