gonzález y soto was born in jerez de la frontera, in southern spain, on 10 june 1846 as the fifth of a total of nine children. his father was don manuel maría gonzález y angel, founder of wine and sherry bodega gonzález byass, his mother was doña victoriana soto y lavaggi. gonzález y angel had founded his wine company in 1835, aged 23. five years later he had founded the corporation gonzález & dubosc with juan bautista dubosc and francisco gutiérrez de agüera, and the company was among the nine largest exporters of spain. by the time of manuel críspulo's birth the gonzález y angel family was already considered among the most successful and wealthy of the city. manuel críspulo was sent to the united kingdom to be schooled at st. edward's college, liverpool and was a student there in 1860. he was later sent to other places in europe to finish his education and perfect his english and french.