The German artist Waltraud Maczassek gives the wine that carries her name a new look
Waltraud 2015, the latest vintage of Bodegas Torres's wine made from the German variety Riesling, is a symbiosis between art and wine. Waltraud Maczassek, a German artist and wife of Bodegas Torres's President, Miguel A. Torres, not only inspired the wine's name and essence, but also designed its new look. The label's message is evocative, poetic and direct, symbolizing the spirit and elegance of this white wine from the Alt Penedès.
The artist created a spontaneous and expressive drawing for the label in minimalist, almost Zen-like strokes suggesting the shape of a vine, which represents the origin of wine. In it, she combines strength and fragility, opposing concepts like those expressed in her paintings. Inspired by nature, they have titles like El caos y el orden (Chaos and Order), Lo etéreo y la forma (Intangibility and Form), El azar y la estructura (Chance and Structure), La luz y la oscuridad (Light and Darkness), Lo espontáneo y lo racional (The Spontaneous and the Rational) or La naturaleza y la cultura (Nature and Culture). According to Waltraud Maczassek: “The drawing is direct and intuitive, minimalist, from head to hand, sensory and cerebral. I wanted to create a modern, yet personal design, rendered in few strokes, as strokes - similar to handwriting - reveal a lot about you.”
A German artist who put down roots in the Penedès
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Waltraud Maczassek has dedicated her life to art. For 25 years, she also contributed to Bodegas Torres's expansion in her home country Germany, where she laid the foundations of a market that is now among the company's most important. She put down roots in the Penedès when she married Miguel A. Torres in 1967. The couple has three children: Ana, Mireia and Miguel. Her passion for painting and photography led her to study fine arts and education in Germany. Years later, she continued her studies in Barcelona, obtaining a fine arts degree from Sant Jordi University.
In Catalonia, she began her career as an artist, moving from figurative painting, in which she captured the landscapes and vineyards of the Penedès, to the lyrical abstraction that characterizes her work today. For Waltraud Maczassek painting is a constant search, an exploration of unknown terrain, which has certain parallels with winemaking. “For me the creative process is energy, expression and sensibility,” says the artist, “At this stage, my paintings talk about nature, about creation from the micro- to the macro-cosmos, about the complexity of living systems.”
She has exhibited her work in various European cities, and critics have emphasized her spiritual and poetic take on reality and her particular vision of space: harmonious, establishing a perceptive dialogue through strokes, signs and hues. Waltraud Maczassek currently combines her creative work with her role as President of the Miguel Torres Foundation, which is committed to the protection and welfare of children and supports public and private initiatives around the world.
A wine born from a union between cultures and passions
Waltraud, an elegant and subtle wine, sprang from a union between a man and a woman who decided to spend their lives together; a union between Germany and Spain, between Waltraud Maczassek’s passion for art and Miguel A. Torres’s passion for wine. Miguel A. Torres decided to make a wine in honor of his wife using German varieties – specifically Riesling, the most prized of all aromatic white varieties – grown in the Alt Penedès.
Riesling has adapted perfectly to the coolest and highest areas of the region, producing wines of exceptional quality: fragrant, fruity and framed by exquisite citrus acidity. Waltraud 2015, which has just been released, stands out for its floral and fruit aroma, which recalls orange blossom honey and lemon with delicate notes of spice bread. The palate is silky and fresh, enveloped in subtle elegance.
