The story
Bodegas Vicente Gandia was founded in 1885 by Vicente Gandia Pla, a wine seller who saw the possibility to start a business around the wine sector. At that time, the trading of Vicente Gandia wines was focused, as well as the rest of Valencian wines, on exporting to European countries in big casks.
The second generation, led by José María Gandia Ferri, had to experience the toughest time of the company: Spanish Civil War, World War II and their corresponding post-wars, which affected Spain as well as the rest of the international markets where the company had presence.
The current president of the company, José María Gandia Perales, is responsible for a qualitative leap for Bodegas Vicente Gandia: the sales of bottled wine. Castillo de Liria is the first wine to be bottled in the Valencian Community; a reference for the other cellars of the region which at the end imitated this new concept. Under José María´s presidency, wines as Ceremonia, Hoya de Cadenas or Fustanova are created in a dynamic and active international trading context.
Besides consolidating the company´s growth, the fourth generation is known for improving the quality of the wines, creating a new line of wines for young people with El Miracle, trading wines from other Spanish Appellations of Origin (Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Rias Baixas and sparkling wine) as well as developing the cultural project Art in Cask, an exposition of wine recipients customized by artists like Carmen Calvo, Miquel Navarro, Javier Mariscal etc.
The company's original founder, Gandia Pla was also the grandfather of Spanish-Mexican artist Vicente Gandía through his son Luis.
From Wikipedia’s article on Bodegas Vicente Gandia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4