Spanish winery becomes third biggest in the world after €40 million expansion

A SPANISH winery is hitting the bottle hard with a €40 million expansion.

After the investment, Felix Solis Avantis will be in the world’s top three wineries.

Famous for its Vina Albali, the company’s annual production will grow from 200m to 300m litres (that’s 400 million bottles) by the end of 2016.

The investment will go mostly boost technologies, automation and capacity to start a new range of sparkling wines.

Mr Solis Ramos, the firm’s international director said: “The first new brands of sparkling wine will be called Provetto and Penasol made from the Viura and Airen grapes.

“We really hope the new sparkling wines will make up half the increase in production and be very popular.

“These days consumers are calling for low-alcohol, fruitier wines with bubbles – distinct from traditional wines.”

Already the number one wine exporter for Spain, the Valdepenas headquartered company has a presence in 110 countries and a bottling and production facility in Shanghai.