Felix Solis

Felix Solis – Spain pure

Felix Solis is a Spanish company specializing in the production of wines, grape juice, and sangría. The backbone of the firm is formed by two wineries in two of the most important wine-growing regions of central Spain: Valdepeñas and La Mancha. The winery in Valdepeñas was opened in 1975 and is today equipped with the most modern production technology in order to process the annual 175,000 tons of harvested grapes. This makes the winery one of the largest family-run businesses in the sector in Spain. Brands such as Viña Albali and Los Molinos, which were launched by Felix Solis, are household names in the Spanish wine world and enjoy great popularity.

A look into history

The company was founded in 1952 by Félix Solís Fernández when he left his home village of Villanueva de los Infantes with his wife Leonor Yañez and moved to Valdepeñas. There he acquired the estate Casa del Huerto del Cura. The manor house has only been preserved in its foundations, but there are still storage buildings, some barrels, a number of tinajas (large, amphora-like stone vessels), and an underground wine cellar. It is here that he begins to build his new company. In 1962 Félix acquired a bottling plant in Madrid. From there the wine is delivered to bars and restaurants throughout the city, and for the first time the wines bear the name Viña Albali. As early as 1968 the bottling plant has to be moved to Valdepeñas, because from then on the regulations of the designation of origin (D.O. Valdepeñas) require bottling on site. A new winery on the Madrid–Cádiz highway is put into operation in 1975 and is still the company’s headquarters today. From then on the company grows steadily and branches are opened in other countries. Today the firm is present in many countries worldwide. Another major step was the opening of the Pagos del Rey wineries in 2002, 2005, and 2006 in the renowned wine regions of Ribera del Duero, Rueda, and Rioja. Also in 2002, the winery in La Mancha was acquired and modernized. In 2015 construction began on the estate Viña Casa Solís in Chile.

The wineries of Félix Solís

Valdepeñas – heart and home

The winery opened in 1975 now covers an area of 130,500 sqm. A large part of the wines for which the brand is known are produced here, for example

• Viña Albali
• Diego de Almagro
• Los Molinos

In addition to appellation wines, table wine, sparkling wine, alcohol-free wines, must, and sangría are also produced here. For this, the company has 500 hectares of its own vineyards at its disposal. In addition, Félix Solís works with around 5,000 winegrowers in the region. During harvest time from August to October, 7,500 tons per day and 175,000 tons of grapes per year are processed in the winery. The 14 bottling lines of the winery reach a capacity of 150,000 bottles per hour.

For the maturation of the wines, 60,000 American oak barrels are available. The company’s wines are also always analyzed in its own laboratory to ensure the highest quality. For storage of the wines, a warehouse with a capacity of 48,000 pallets is connected to the winery. In total, the winery has a storage capacity of 250 million liters.

La Mancha – the newcomer

The winery in La Mancha dates back to 1966 and originally belonged to Bodega del Nieto. Although it was acquired as early as 2002, it took until 2012 for the first Félix Solís wines from this winery to come onto the market. Together with 500 winegrowers, a total area of 4,000 hectares of land is cultivated. The vines are traditionally planted at a greater distance from each other here, although trellis training has been gaining in importance since its approval under the appellation regulations. The wines from this winery focus mainly on traditional Spanish grape varieties such as:

• Tempranillo
• Airén

However, more wines from international grape varieties are also being produced, which are given a Spanish twist here.

The winery covers a total area of 50,000 sqm. For the maturation of the wines, 3,000 American oak barrels are available, and 6,000 bottles can be filled per hour. Brands such as Caliza, Soliera, and Montefrio come from this winery.