Familia Torres
Spain
EU
Familia Torres is a Spanish family winery based in Vilafranca del Penedès, Catalonia. The family traces its winegrowing back to 1559, and the brothers Jaime and Miguel Torres Vendrell founded the winery...
European Wine Brands
Frescobaldi
Italy
EU
Marchesi de' Frescobaldi is a Tuscan wine company based in Florence. According to the family, it has produced wine in Tuscany for seven hundred years, beginning in the early 1300s, and the...
Henkell Freixenet
Germany
EU
Henkell Freixenet is a sparkling wine group headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany. Its roots reach back to the 19th century: Adam Henkell began producing Sekt in 1856, Francesco Mionetto founded his Prosecco winery...
Marchesi Antinori
Italy
EU
Marchesi Antinori is an Italian wine company from Florence. According to the family, it has been involved in winemaking since 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine winemakers' guild, and...
Moët & Chandon
France
EU
Moët & Chandon is a Champagne house based in Épernay in the Champagne region of France. It was founded in 1743 by Claude Moët and later developed by his descendant Jean-Rémy Moët....
Raventós Codorníu
Spain
EU
Non-European Parent Company
Raventós Codorníu is a Spanish wine and cava group based in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Catalonia. According to the company, it grew out of 18 generations of a winegrowing family. In 1872 Josep...
Sogrape
Portugal
EU
Sogrape is a Portuguese wine company founded in 1942, when Fernando van Zeller Guedes and 15 friends established the Sociedade Comercial dos Vinhos de Mesa de Portugal. The company has its headquarters...
Taittinger
France
EU
Taittinger is a Champagne house in Reims, France. The company publishing the website is Taittinger CCVC, 9 place Saint-Nicaise in Reims. It describes itself as a family-owned and independent champagne house, led...
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Submit SuggestionEuropean wine brands are often family houses with centuries of history. This page lists eight producers with their headquarters in Europe, from the Spanish winery Familia Torres and the Tuscan houses Marchesi Antinori and Frescobaldi to the Champagne houses Moët & Chandon and Taittinger. Sparkling wine is included: Cava, Sekt and Champagne are among the best known European wine exports.
Who owns the European wine houses?
Most listed houses are independent family companies. Moët & Chandon is part of LVMH in Paris, and Henkell Freixenet in Wiesbaden belongs to the Oetker family group together with the Ferrer family of Freixenet. One entry carries the non-European parent flag: Raventós Codorníu is owned by the US fund Carlyle, which is reportedly looking for a buyer.
| Brand | Based in | Known for | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Familia Torres | Vilafranca del Penedès | Catalan wines, since 1870 | Family |
| Marchesi Antinori | Florence | Tuscan wines, 26 generations | Family |
| Frescobaldi | Florence | Tuscan wines, since the 1300s | Family |
| Sogrape | Avintes (Porto) | Portuguese wine, founded 1942 | Guedes family |
| Henkell Freixenet | Wiesbaden | Sekt, Prosecco, Cava | Oetker family group |
| Moët & Chandon | Épernay | Champagne, since 1743 | LVMH |
| Taittinger | Reims | Champagne | Family |
| Raventós Codorníu | Sant Sadurní d'Anoia | Cava, first bottle 1872 | Carlyle (USA), flagged |
Still wine or sparkling wine?
The list mixes both. Torres, Antinori, Frescobaldi and Sogrape make mainly still wine from several regions. Champagne and Cava houses focus on sparkling wine made by the traditional method. The listing is a selection of well known houses, not a ranking, and it does not replace the many small regional producers.
Reading the label
The name of a house does not say where the grapes grew. Protected designations such as Champagne, Cava, Rioja or Chianti name the region, and the house name tells who made the wine and who owns the producer, which is what this list documents.