González Byass - Five generations strong

Mauricio González Gordon / Credits: Gonzáles Byass
Mauricio González Gordon / Credits: Gonzáles Byass

Jerez-based González Byass is not just an important wine company, it’s the living legacy of the González family, which has made an outsized contribution to Spain.

 

When Manuel María González Gordon decided to dedicate his life to the wine industry back in 1835, he could not have believed that his passion would have inspired his descendants to such an extent that they would now be overseeing a growing business, with world-famous brands like Tio Pepe Fino, represented in over 100 countries globally.

Very much a family business, González Byass is owned and run by the fifth generation of the González family; a family that is committed to ensuring that this renowned Jerez-based business thrives for a further five generations. Their dedication to the wine and spirits business and a strong belief that what is taken out must be put back in, means that Mauricio González Gordon and his team are constantly thinking about the legacy they will pass on to the next generation. Indeed, the company’s sustainability programme is called “5+5”, after the five previous generation and those to come, is a clear indication of the long-term view the González family have.

Part of the success of the company from the outset has been its emphasis on export, and whilst strong in the Spanish market, the company has always looked outside its own boundaries. Exporting first to the UK, in the year of the company’s foundation, the drive to sell its brands internationally has lead to setting up offices in the UK and Mexico and to the recent purchase of a new distribution arm in the USA, VinDivino. Other markets are also key to future growth with ambassadors in China and the Far East and in Germany, where this year, González Byass will be enlarging its team considerably.

But Gonzalez Byass is so much more than just Sherry today. Whilst its roots are firmly in Jerez, the company diversified into other leading Spanish wine regions in the 1980’s starting with the acquisition of Bodegas Beronia in Rioja, quickly followed by purchase of Cavas Vilarnau in Penedés. During the start of the 21st century the company further expanded its interests by building a single-estate winery from scratch, close to Toledo, called Finca Constancia, and also a smaller single-estate in Cádiz, Finca Moncloa, around 50 kms from Jerez. The year 2008 saw the latest member of the Family of Wine, Viñas del Vero in Somontano, join the fold, showing that the González Byass ‘ Family of Wine’ extends not just from the most southerly wine producing regions in Spain to one of the most northerly, but across the globe.

Gonzáles Byass

Calle de Manuel María González
12, 11403 Jerez de la Frontera
Cádiz, Spain
www.gonzalezbyass.com

 

 

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