Owner and founder Antonio Abbad was born in 1941 in Estadilla, a small town that lies about 3 miles from the current site of the Bodegas Olvena winery. Some thirty years later, after developing a multi-million-dollar company, he fulfilled a life-long dream when he purchased a 100-hectare pear orchard near his hometown. Over the years, his holdings grew and by the 1990s he owned more than 600 hectares, with more than 200 under vine, and 1,500 head of cattle in Somontano. By the end of the decade, he decided to found Bodegas Olvena in this little-known winemaking region. He recognized early on that Somontano, with its continental climate and vineyard sites reaching 700 meters in altitude, had the potential to become one of Spain’s top appellations. In many ways, the winery represents a return to his roots and a passion inspired by his love for his birthplace.  Today, Olvena is leading a winemaking revolution in Somontano. Antonio and his wife Josefina were married in 1965 and two of their three children — María José and Jordi — currently work for the winery.
                                           
Director Roberto Pan oversees every aspect of the Bodegas Olvena winery, from day-to-day operations, vineyard management, and vinification to human resources, marketing strategy, and domestic and international distribution and sales. For Roberto and his wife María José Abbad, daughter of owner Antonio Abbad and the winery’s Director of Marketing, Bodegas Olvena represents a shared passion and a true labor of love. The father of four, Roberto makes sure that Bodegas Olvena is a true family affair: when it comes time to give names to their wines, Roberto consults with his family for inspiration. The winery’s flagship wine, Hache, and its international-style blend, Cuatro, were both given their names by María José and Roberto’s children.

Bodega Olvena’s Director of Marketing María José Abbad received her degree in marketing from the University of Barcelona in 1989. She brings a fresh and youthful approach to marketing high-end wine. “Olvena is a project run by young people,” she likes to say, “people who have a slightly different vision of the world of wine.” “We don’t ‘make’ wine. We ‘create,’ wine,” she explains. Olvena’s wines are known for their freshness and consumer-friendly style: María José firmly believes that the contemporary and vibrant look of Bodegas Olvena’s labels and packaging is a key element in the overwhelming, international success of her family’s portfolio.

Born and raised in Barcelona, Cellar Master Jordi Abbad Tena has worked in different capacities for the Abbad family businesses throughout his adult life. But since childhood, his passion was agriculture: on the weekends he would break away from the big city to visit his family’s rural estate. After receiving his degree in business administration from the University of Barcelona in 1998, he decided to abandon city life completely and he moved to Olvena, where he helped to build the new winery from the ground up. As Cellar Master and the youngest member of the Abbad winery team, he has overseen the development of its winemaking approach, including early clonal selection, the first plantings, and the winery’s first harvest (1999).