The esteemed Torres wine family has created a new wine, and readers will be pleased with a glass of its 2005 Ibericos Rioja.

Every acclaimed wine area has an internationally-known name attached to it: Mondavi in Napa, Drouhin in Burgundy, Rothschild in Bordeaux, Gaja in Piedmont.Spain’s Penedes region and Torres are synonymous in the wine world.

For three hundred years, the family has been involved in the wine trade. Beginning in the 1960s, it single-handedly changed winemaking in the Penedes with the introduction of temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks; planting new vineyards with international grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, and gewürztraminer.

It used these grapes to create new wines as single varieties or blended with indigenous varieties. As the second half of the 20th century progressed, the Torres family developed wineries in Chile and California’s Sonoma County. And the arrival of the 21st century found the family opening its newest winery in Penedes’ neighboring Rioja region.

Rioja is named for the river, Rio Oja, that courses through it. Rioja is divided into three sub-regions, Alta, Alavesa and Baja. In 2005, Torres founded its winery in Labastida, a village in Rioja Alavesa, the highest altitude sub-region, and along with Alta, considered better than Baja with its lower elevation and hotter climate. Ibericos, made from 100-percent Tempranillo grapes, is named for the ancient people and culture that gave birth to the Iberian Peninsula.

The 2005 Torres Ibericos is one more reason to trust this family with your wine selections. Whether it is from their native Penedes vineyards, New World wineries, or their new Rioja winery, Torres is another way of saying quality.

The 2005 Torres Ibericos retails for approximately $19.99.