1882: Volume 2 EN | Symington Family Estates

LETTER FROM THE CEO IN MEMORIAM

A LIFELONG CAREER IN WINE

A TRULY EXTRAORDINARY YEAR

Mapping the route to 2021’s remarkable performance

20 YEARS OF DOURO DOC AT SYMINGTON

Rupert Symington reflects on our first two decades making still wines

QUINTA DO ATAÍDE –A WINERY FOR THE FUTURE

First LEED certified winery in Portugal

WINE TOURISM

A strategic growth area of our business

MORE THAN A STORY OF MACHINES, A STORY OF PEOPLE

New bottling line at Quinta de Santo António

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO PORT HAS GONE BEFORE

The First Year of School of Port

PORTFOLIO VINHOS

– FIRST YEAR AT THE HELM

Diogo Melo e Castro looks back over his first year at Portfolio

VINTAGE PORT · ONE WINE, TWO EXPRESSIONS

An overview of recent Classic Vintage and Quinta Vintage Ports

SYMINGTON ‘SHORTS’

HOT AND FAST, COOL AND SLOW

An overview of the 2020 and 2021 harvests

WINE AS A FORCE FOR GOOD

Family wine producers can play a leading response to the 21st century’s sustainability challenges

Reforestation at Quinta da Fonte Souto

Steve Rogerson · a colleague remembered Rewilding Portugal · volunteer work

Tom Symington · profile of a 5th generation team member We’re on television!

Jorge Nunes · ‘The Vintner’s Cup’

Barco rabelo Regatta · São João, 2022

Luís Martins · farewell to a valued colleague and friend

2nd ClimWine Symposium (Bordeaux) · SFE participation

Developments in wine tourism and hospitality

NEW RELEASES

Altano Rewilding Edition

Cockburn’s Tails of The Unexpected

Graham’s 1952 Platinum Jubilee Port

Comboio do Vesúvio Douro DOC

Graham’s Blend Nº12 Ruby Port

A Brace of Rosé Wines

Graham’s Six Grapes Relaunch

Quinta da Fonte Souto Alfrocheiro

Cockburn’s Portonic

Graham’s Single Harvest Tawnies 1994 Vintage Port Re-release

RECOGNITION

Quinta do Vesúvio 2018 & 2019 Douro DOC

Chryseia 2018 & 2019 Douro DOC

World’s 50 Most Admired Wine Brands 2021 & 2022

Casa dos Ecos 2021

Pedro Lemos 2022

Quinta do Bomfim World’s Best Vineyards · 2021

Wine Spectator TOP 100 (2022)

EY Entrepreneur of The Year 2021

LETTER FROM THE CEO

RUPERT SYMINGTON

Dear friends and partners,

It is my pleasure to introduce the second edition of Symington Family Estates 1882 magazine. Since our first edition was released in October 2020 in the middle of the Covid pandemic, the world has experienced further serious upheavals, with supply chain problems affecting multiple businesses around the world, growing labour shortages in key industries in almost every developed nation, a pointless and seemingly irreconcilable conflict in Ukraine, and now the spectre of high inflation. On a personal note, in November 2020 we were deeply saddened by the loss of yet another senior family member with the death of my father, James, aged 85. Nevertheless, the SFE community has managed to survive and even prosper through all this uncertainty and difficulty, making further important steps in line with our long-term mission, to pass on a stronger and more sustainable business than the one we were entrusted to manage.

The final sales numbers for 2020 came as a pleasant surprise for all of us on the Board of SFE. After the initial plunge in business in March and April, we started to receive a healthy flow of orders from our larger retail customers across the world, reflecting the tendency of those forced to stay at home to purchase and consume more beverage alcohol than they might have done in normal circumstances. Trusted brands such as Graham and Cockburn with a strong retail presence in key markets did particularly well in this unexpected and unprecedented market scenario. The year-end financial figures were no less surprising, with none of the major bad debts that we feared might come as a consequence of the pandemic, and we experienced only a modest shortfall on our 2019 results despite having lost almost the entirety of our wine tourism business along with the majority of our premium port sales in Portugal and in Travel Retail. The only major disappointment in 2020, which had nothing to do with the pandemic, was the extreme heat over the summer in the Douro, which dried up a huge proportion of the potential crop leading to one of the smallest harvests ever recorded.

2021 proved to be an even more extraordinary year from a sales point of view, with the pandemic dragging on despite the arrival of a vaccine programme, and consumers, still largely barred from eating out, continuing to purchase more than normal to drink at home. SFE´s sales managed to reach a new record, although the first cracks in the supply chain began to appear towards the second half of the year, with difficulties in the sourcing of some bottling materials. In conjunction with this, certain customers reported the first serious delays in shipments as the worldwide disruption in ocean freight and logistics began to make itself felt.

Rupert Symington Quinta do Bomfim October 2022

With most of the company working from home, the SFE offices have been almost deserted during much of the last two years. Only our Wine Production team, headed up by Charles, continued to go in every day, and managed to prepare the necessary quantities of high-quality port and Douro wine to fulfil orders, which for two years in a row came in considerably higher than what was expected. Furthermore, our bottling teams, with no option but to turn up every day and work wearing masks, made an outstanding contribution, working in shifts to reduce the risk of an interruption in service resulting from a Covid outbreak. Fortunately, due to cautious materials procurement and a lot of hard work, we were able to produce everything that was eventually required, even when our initial forecasts had pointed to rather lower figures. Our vineyard teams continued to work as normal, managing to carry out an ambitious replanting programme despite the pandemic disruption. For the rest of us working from home, the IT department made sure that we were all adequately connected, and the HR department arranged themed online social meetings to ensure that we could continue to enjoy the company of our work colleagues. The commercial team kept in regular contact with customers throughout the lockdown period ensuring a constant two-way flow of vital information to ensure that all possible sales and physical shipments could be realised. It was extremely gratifying to see the company readapting to the new ways of working and coming through the crisis period so successfully.

A particular word of thanks needs to be given to the Covid response team, who guided us with good advice on how to keep staff as safe as possible, and to the SFE medical services, who spent countless days administering rapid flow tests in Gaia and in the Douro. It is thanks to their help that SFE managed to trade through a prolonged pandemic with a minimal interruption of service and with two busy ‘vindimas’ successfully managed without incident.

Despite all the disruption, we have managed to maintain an impressive rhythm of development of new projects and concepts. We completed the extension to the Quinta de Roriz winery in good time for the 2021 harvest, and a useful extension to the terrace at Graham´s 1890 lodge was finalised earlier this year. Spectacular new offices for the Marketing Department were also completed early this year. Building work continued on the new winery at Quinta do Ataíde, which will hopefully be ready for the 2023 harvest. Following two highly successful seasons, the pop-up restaurant at Casa dos Ecos has temporarily closed to allow us to open a much more substantial restaurant with the acclaimed chef Pedro Lemos at Quinta do Bomfim in June. Bomfim has seen a major remodelling of its infrastructure with additional parking and new office space alongside the spectacular Bomfim 1896 restaurant building completed in March. Another pop-up, Casa dá Bó, was created in a derelict space in Porto´s downtown area to promote Cockburn´s Ports to a younger crowd. Along with these building projects, we have managed to launch some exciting new products such as Altano Rewilding Edition,

Comboio do Vesúvio, Quinta de Fonte Souto Alfrocheiro and the Cockburn´s ‘Tails of The Unexpected’ series. We have also made good progress towards our sustainability goals with staff at all levels of the company embracing this important challenge.

With the business returning to a more normal rhythm in March 2022 from a pandemic point of view, SFE management has had to address some major new problems. Rising energy costs caused by the war in Ukraine and supply chain disruption resulting from the public health crisis have caused many of our dry goods suppliers to push through double digit price increases. In conjunction with this, we are experiencing cost increases in almost every aspect of the goods and services that we contract, giving us no option but to pass on price increases to our customers as worldwide inflation begins to bite. Time will tell as to how our customers will react to higher priced goods and to what extent consumption will be affected.

We hope you enjoy the content of this second edition of our 1882 magazine where we have tried to encapsulate within its pages some of the positive spirit and camaraderie of the Symington staff. We are all immensely proud of the business that we have developed and have every confidence in our future ´for the next generation´.

Rupert Symington

producer

CEO – Symington Family Estates 4th generation port and wine

IN MEMORIAM JAMES SYMINGTON

James was one of the third-generation members of our family whose steadfast dedication and spirit of sacrifice ensured the survival of the family company through lean times. Together with his cousins, he played a major role in recovering the business and laying the solid foundations which we enjoy today. Sadly, James passed away in November 2020, just a month short of his 86th birthday.

James was born in Porto, Portugal in 1934. He was a member of the third generation of the Symington family to produce port. His grandfather, Andrew James Symington, first came to Portugal in 1882 and married Beatrice Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson, whose own family had long established roots in the port trade. Their son, Ron, (James’ father) was a famed port blender and worked with his brothers in the family port company.

James was first educated at the Oporto British School. With the outbreak of war in 1939, however, life in neutral Portugal became increasingly complicated. By 1941, The British Embassy had advised all its citizens to leave the country. Together with his mother and siblings, James travelled from Lisbon to Canada via New York on the Pan Am Clipper flying boat service. A then six-year-old James arrived in Manhattan holding a treefrog taken from his garden in Porto and the ‘transatlantic frog’ was featured in the next day’s New York Times.

After two years living in Canada, the family returned to Portugal in July 1943. James attended St Julian’s school in Lisbon until 1946 when he went to Ampleforth in England. In 1952, he was awarded a place at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford but was unable to accept it due to financial limitations following a difficult few years for the port trade during and after the war.

In 1954, James was commissioned in the British Army and served as a Second Lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles in Kenya for nearly two years. He became fluent in Swahili and developed a close friendship with the African askaris. In his retirement, James often returned to Kenya and met up with the old soldiers with whom he had served. Throughout his life, he supported social and wildlife projects in Kenya to help the communities he had grown to know so well.

Following a long depression in port sales from the early thirties onwards, 1960 brought the first signs of a revival. In was in this year that James married his wife Penny and joined his father and cousins in the family company. He began working as a taster and blender – a highly skilled role that is crucial to making excellent port. James was responsible for blending the Dow and Warre 1966 and 1970 Vintage Ports as well as the Graham 1970. These are some of most highly regarded wines from the twentieth century and have aged magnificently.

After handing over his tasting and blending responsibilities to his cousin Peter in 1973, James began working on the commercial side, developing new markets in the US, Canada and Scandinavia. James, together with his cousins Michael and Ian, formed a strong partnership that steered the family business through several turbulent decades, when many of the historic

family port companies were sold or simply closed. In 1985, James founded Premium Port Wines in San Francisco, the first wine distribution company established in the US by any port company. Today, the business is responsible for a significant proportion of all US port sales.

With constant good humour and an indefatigable optimism, James built many close relationships throughout the world of wine. It was his friendship with Miguel Torres and Piero Antinori that led to the Symington family becoming one of the founding members of the Primum Familiae Vini in 1992. The PFV has since developed into a strong association of twelve wine-producing families committed to championing the values of family-owned wine companies and ensuring they continue into the next generation.

Like his ancestors before him, James had an overwhelming love of the Douro. In 1987, he acquired a small semi-abandoned property called Quinta da Vila Velha. Together with his wife Penny, they restored the quinta into a well-tended 145-hectare riverside property with 55 hectares under vine. The estate now produces some of the top wines in the region.

James and Penny had a son, Rupert, and two daughters, Clare and Miranda, and six grandchildren. Rupert is now the CEO of Symington Family Estates and his oldest son, Hugh, has been working in Premium Port Wines in the USA promoting the family’s wines since 2018. Clare also works in the family business and is based in the UK.

James hosted the British Prime Minister, John Major, at the Graham's Lodge and at Quinta dos Malvedos during the summer of 1993

A LIFELONG CAREER IN WINE DOMINIC SYMINGTON

Dominic Symington, fourth generation port producer, retired towards the close of 2021 after 31 dynamic years engaging the world with port & the Douro, during which he made a long and lasting contribution to the family company. We already miss his energy, optimism, conviviality, and irrepressible sense of humour.

Dominic joined the family company in Portugal in 1990 as Sales Director, after a five-year stint working at Fells, our family-owned UK distributor. Over the last three decades, he has helped to develop our company’s commercial strategy and significantly grow sales of our wines around the world. No other member of the Symington family has travelled as widely nor conducted as many events and tastings in their career as Dominic. His incredible energy and determination have not only reinforced the family’s position in the traditional port markets, such as Portugal, the UK, and US, but contributed to establishing a strong presence in new markets such as Scandinavia, Germany, Russia, and Brazil, amongst others. Dominic’s natural charm and great sense of humour have meant that he has developed a great many lifelong relationships within the wine trade along the way.

Aside from sales, Dominic was responsible for key areas of the business. He managed our portfolio of Vintage Ports, re-releasing mature and rare bottles from our cellars. He ran one of our most magnificent and iconic estates in the Douro, Quinta do Vesúvio – producing Vintage Ports and three red wines. When we acquired our first estate outside of the Douro Valley – Quinta da Fonte Souto in the Altentejo –Dominic led the project to renovate the old winery and deliver the first wines from the 2017 harvest. Dominic was also Chairman of Portfolio, the Symington-owned wine distributor in Portugal.

Born in Porto in 1956, Dominic attended primary school in Portugal and secondary school in the UK. He started his career in the wine trade by working for Saccone & Speed, which was then the UK importer for Warre’s Port. Later, after joining an independent wine distributor specialising in the London on-trade, he built a portfolio of clients by knocking on doors of hotels, bars, and restaurants. In 1985 he joined the Symington-owned UK distributor, Fells and helped develop the fine wine division there. Following an invitation from his father Michael Symington and his uncles, Dominic returned to Porto and joined the family business in January 1990.

Dominic in the tasting room at Quinta da Fonte Souto, Portalegre in 2019

Dominic has been married to his wife Laura for 35 years. They have a son, Anthony, who has worked at Fells managing our ports & wines in the UK since 2018. Their two daughters live in Porto; Harriet is a teacher in an international school, and Isabel is an interior designer. In a farewell message to work colleagues, Dominic, ‘Dom’, wrote, ‘I am particularly proud to see my son Anthony join the business alongside six of his cousins. It will be up to them to ensure we continue producing outstanding wines from this beautiful region and engage the next generation. I will continue to play my part, whilst enjoying my retirement and spending my time between Porto and the Douro.’

(Left) Dominic in the Gaia tasting room in the early 1990s.

(Below) At Quinta do Bomfim during a family gathering in the mid-1990s

‘I started my professional career in September 1976 working for Saccone & Speed, the Wines & Spirits division of Courages Brewery. They were the Warre’s agents in the UK and I entered their Management Trainee Scheme, during which I worked through virtually all the operational departments of the company. On my second day, they told me to report for work at 07:00 “and don’t bother to wear a tie” – the first job turned out to be working with the delivery drivers resupplying pubs and clubs in some of the less reputable neighbourhoods of London. This was quite an eye-opener, and I became acquainted with some aspects of the English language that I never knew existed!

While working in the tasting room as a junior assistant I had my first experience of some quite outstandingly good wine which set me on a course of enjoying wine for the rest of my life – I still well remember the wine; Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou 1961 (one of the greatest vintages of Bordeaux).

It was also while working in the sample room that I learnt much about port from Bill Warre, who at the time also worked there. Bill was a member of the Warre family that had been our partners in Portugal. He was the acknowledged UK expert on port, and he always took time to taste and explain all the ports with me (indeed all wines). It was with him that I essentially learnt all about port & wine tasting.

I left Saccone & Speed at the end of 1979 and then spent seven months doing sales promotional work for our Northern California Graham’s distributor before returning to the UK to take up a position with a small independent wine distribution company specialising in the London on-trade as a salesman. I was to be paid on commission and was given a small number of existing clients but essentially had to build my own customer portfolio. Although this was an exciting time of huge financial growth in the UK, it was to prove very hard work to build a profitable customer base. After a very difficult beginning

where I would make a list of every hotel and restaurant in an area of London and simply walk down the streets knocking on every door, eventually I did assemble a very profitable collection of clients.

In 1985 I joined Fells, working both in the commercial side and taking the first steps in developing a fine wine division, although the Fells of today is a significantly bigger and better company now than it was in the mid 1980s.

In late 1989 my father and uncles invited me to return to Porto to take up a position in the sales team and I joined in January 1990.

One of the funniest moments in my career happened during the 1994 Vintage Port launch in San Francisco, at the end of an exhausting five-day, five-city tour of the United States. We were having a postpresentation dinner with some leading journalists. At one point I stood to reach for an open bottle of very old vintage port when I felt a hand grab my bottom. To my surprise it was the man sitting next to me! I issued an expletive and smacked the hand away. The person left and later to the amusement of my cousins who were with me they all said that I should have accepted the advances in the interest of the family business!

While on a trip to Russia — during happier times — a presentation tasting was arranged in a large fur-coat emporium. It is always quite difficult doing public presentations in Russia — relying on a translator to maintain the flow and attention of the audience is not easy. On this occasion, shortly after starting, two beautiful models appeared and started parading in fur coats between myself and the audience, just as I was about to turn to speak to my distributor standing beside me, the two models shrugged off their coats and were left standing in very high heels and microscopic underwear. I was speechless, as were most of the audience and I have no idea what I said next, nor for the rest of the presentation …’

Some recollections, in his own words

A TRULY EXTRAORDINARY YEAR

Mapping the route to 2021’s remarkable performance

The Douro River at Quinta dos Malvedos

Euan Mackay

As we looked forward to 2022 and to the challenges we would face over the coming 12 months (not least of which the war in Ukraine, which flared just days after the completion of this article), we thought that the time was right to reflect not only on the extraordinary results of 2021 but also to look back over the last decade to highlight some of the key moments and decisions that have led to this amazing achievement.

Back in 2012, although Symington was producing roughly the same number of bottles as we did in 2021, our relationship with the Cockburn’s brand was very recent (having just completed our first full trading year as the new owners). Graham’s was in a very different position to where it is now, and our still wine business led by Altano and our joint venture with the Prats family (Chryseia) was still in its infancy.

In terms of the commercial structure, although supported by a small professional sales & marketing team, members of the 4th generation including Paul, Johnny, Rupert and Dominic Symington were all strongly involved with the day-to-day management of this area, regularly travelling to meet with our network of distributors and customers all over the world. In 2012, Symington Family Estates network of direct customers extended to some 200 different companies in over 60 countries worldwide.

A decade later, Symington is now shipping to over 75 countries worldwide with our port and wine brands being available in restaurants, wine shops, ecommerce platforms in well over 100 different countries. The relatively small commercial team has now expanded to 55 professionals managing the sales, marketing, communication, wine development, customer service and planning side of the business including 5 members of the 5th generation and a further two members involved in our distribution companies in the UK and the US.

During this time, Cockburn’s Port has reinforced its position as the No.1 producer of reserve quality port with its Cockburn’s Special Reserve and has begun the work to regain its reputation as one of the great names in Vintage Port and to engage with the consumers of the future with the launch of its ‘Tails of the

The Douro River at Quinta do Vale de Malhadas (Douro Superior)

Unexpected’ range. In 2011, Graham began a major programme of innovation that resulted in the creation of the first Single Harvest Tawny, the move of its entire aged tawny range into clear glass, the launch of its first super luxury wine, Graham’s ‘Ne Oublie’, followed by the creation of its first super cuvée Vintage Port, Graham’s The Stone Terraces and more recently the launch of the Blend Series plus the modernisation of Six Grapes.

Since the release of Dow’s 2007 Vintage and subsequent declarations including the famous 2011, the brand’s reputation has also skyrocketed and is now consistently outperforming its peers in the secondary market, while Warre’s has continued to remain true to its commitment to its traditional roots while driving Otima to new levels.

Our efforts on the wine side have been dedicated to developing the distribution of our key brands such as Altano, Quinta do Vesúvio and P&S not only in Portugal (the principal market for Douro DOC) but also with our key partners around the world. The family’s decision in 2017 to invest outside the Douro DOC at Quinta da Fonte Souto in the Portalegre region of the Alentejo and the recent creation of a new wine development team, is the beginning of a new chapter in Symington’s love for authentic terroir-based fine wines from Portugal.

Despite all this, it is still very difficult to accurately pinpoint which of the many decisions that were taken, resulted in the success that we have experienced during the time. As in so many things it is a combination of a multitude of factors, many of which are linked to the following:

Quality – There is no doubt that the quality of the wines that Charles Symington and his team have consistently produced over this time has been one of the most important contributors to this success. Whether you are a producer, a distributor, a retailer, a sommelier, or a chef, to be able to rely totally on the quality of your produce, day in, day out is fundamental. In our case this is heavily linked to Charles and his team’s skill and ability together with the Symington’s unwavering commitment to its vineyards, its winemaking facilities and the ageing of its wines.

Graham’s Blend Series: a premium white and red port, specially made for preparing delicious aperitif drinks.

(Above) Cockburn’s ‘White Heights’, part of the trio collection named ‘Tails of The Unexpected’

(Below and right) Graham’s range of Single Harvest Tawnies and the iconic ‘Ne Oublie’ very old tawny have raised the profile of Graham’s to new heights.

There is no doubt that the quality of the wines that Charles Symington and his team have consistently produced over the years has been one of the most important contributors to our success.

Partnerships/relationships – We all know that the wine business is above all a people business built on trust and strong handshakes. Although over the last decade this important role has been gradually transferred to other members of the sales team, the 4th generation has played a strong role in safeguarding and nurturing these important relationships whether it be with our own network of distribution companies (John E Fells & Sons in the UK, Premium Port Wines in the US or Portfolio Vinhos in Portugal) or our network of third-party partners across the globe, as their parents did before.

Innovation – The need for innovation within the drinks industry is key to the success of any producer and without it, the risk of losing relevance is high. The pace of innovation at Symington, particularly in new product development and storytelling has gained significant momentum over the past decade, helping to bring excitement to the category while at the same time reaching out to new consumers. The company’s decision over the past few years to expand both the marketing and communication team is a clear sign of the need to continue to maintain this momentum.

Wine Tourism – Although this aspect has been significantly curtailed over the past couple of years due to Covid restrictions, this has played a very important role in enabling us to build lasting relationships with both trade professionals and consumers around the world. Being able to deliver authentic, real, personal experiences whether in a vineyard, quinta or restaurant in the Douro Valley, or a port lodge or restaurant in Vila Nova da Gaia, has provided the business with a strong set of opportunities to engage and tell our story.

The historical numbers that were achieved in 2021, are testament not just to the extraordinary work that has been done over the last decade by all areas of the company but also to the work that has been done by the previous generation of family members and employees.

Building brands in the wine and spirit business is a slow and steady process and often the rewards take a while to materialise.

20 YEARS OF DOURO DOC AT SYMINGTON Rupert Symington reflects on our first two decades making still wines

With the sales of Douro DOC within the SFE group having reached new records in 2020, we believed that it was the right moment to pause and reflect on the ´why´ and the ´how´ of the Symington entry into this important arm of the business — two decades on. The ´when´ is easy, as after more than two hundred years of almost exclusively producing quality ports, it was in 1999 that we first embarked on a new journey into the relatively unknown territory of developing a serious offering of quality table wines, made from a combination of our own vineyard production and farmers´ grapes.

Before 1999 we had always produced a certain amount of DOC as a by-product of our port production process. Under the benefício system, farmers would deliver grapes with port rights to our adegas up to their authorised limit, with any excess quantity of

grapes accepted, but having by law to be fermented dry. A small amount of this dry production was bottled as `Vale do Bomfim´ for internal consumption and the rest sold off in bulk to the highest bidder for a modest profit in most years. Typically, the best grapes were used for port, and the secondary selection transformed into DOC using our same port fermenting capacity, often resulting in over-extracted wines with rough tannins that were agreeable without being very sophisticated. With an eye on what competitors such as Ramos Pinto and Sogrape had been doing with their DOCs since the region was granted a second appellation in 1982 alongside port, we had debated throughout the 1990s whether or not we should attempt to move into DOC and concluded that we would be better off concentrating on what we knew best, port, and where we knew we had expertise, equipment and the ability to make money.

Our investments in vineyards had grown rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, and with evident productivity gains it soon became apparent that we were producing ever larger quantities of topquality grapes without benefício, that would need to be brought to the market at a price that would cover the higher costs of production in our top quintas. In parallel, with the productivity of the Douro as a whole having increased due to new plantings, there was an increase in DOC production in the region and consequent downward pressure on bulk prices, making the exercise of disposing of excess production much less attractive from a financial point of view. At a Board meeting in late 1998, it was finally decided that Symington would attempt to launch an affordable table wine brand for the wider market made from a better selection of farmers´ grapes from the 1999 Vintage. Pedro Correia was recruited to manage the winemaking side of this project under Charles Symington and a barrel-ageing cellar built at Quinta do Sol. The overall management of the project was entrusted to Rupert Symington, backed up initially by Maria José Marques with the planning responsibility.

In order to deal with the other important question of how to market our own top quality quinta production that could not be made into port, at James Symington´s suggestion we contacted Bruno Prats, whose family had recently sold Château Cos d´Estournel in Bordeaux, with a proposal to try to work together to produce a red wine in the Douro, made from our very best grapes, that could ultimately come to match our Vintage Ports in terms of quality and reputation. Happily, Bruno Prats accepted, and during 1999 new fermentation capacity was installed specifically for top quality DOC at a ´winery within a winery´ at Quinta do Sol, and a French winemaker, Stéphane Point, hired to oversee the winemaking. The first experimental wines were produced at the 1999 Vintage using fruit from Bomfim, Malvedos and Vesúvio and small batches of various varieties vinified separately. There was a gentleman´s agreement with the Prats family that we would only proceed with a formal partnership if we could demonstrate early on that wines of sufficient quality could be made. It was clear to both sides that SFE had excellent primary material in its vineyards to make top quality dry reds but needed the vinification and barrel-ageing expertise of the Prats to be able to transform them into serious wines.

Bruno Prats, with whom we are proud to produce outstanding wines in the Douro Valley.

‘There was a gentleman´s agreement with the Prats family that we would only proceed with a formal partnership if we could demonstrate early on that wines of sufficient quality could be made. It was clear to both sides that SFE had excellent primary material in its vineyards to make top quality dry reds but needed the vinification and barrel-ageing expertise of the Prats to be able to transform them into serious wines.’

Rupert Symington

(Below) The barrel-ageing cellar at Quinta de Roriz

(Right) Quinta de Roriz, one of the Douro’s finest quintas and home to the Prats & Symington partnership.

In parallel to this we negotiated in 1999 the purchase of a controlling stake in Quinta de Roriz, which had already released a DOC from 1996, and where our partner João van Zeller was keen to move the estate away from its historic focus on port production towards an increasing emphasis on DOC. A repackaged Quinta de Roriz Reserva was launched in 2001. A new brand, Prazo de Roriz, was created as a second wine to the main estate bottling and the first wines launched in 2002.

To enter the higher volume (but not the lowest priced) wine segment we registered and launched the Altano brand in 2000, joining the Tuella brand purchased from Beam (previous owners of Cockburn’s Port) in 1996 and our original Vale do Bomfim label. Altano was initially launched with just a single red wine and later expanded to include a white and a barrelaged reserve. Some years later, so as to address demand for a premium red wine, we developed our Altano Organic based on the production of our organically farmed vineyard at Ataíde. Altano started with quite modest annual sales but had a breakthrough once we managed to get listed in the ´moderna´ in Portugal (‘moderna distribuição’ or supermarket listings). Tuella benefitted from an early listing with Rewe in Germany made by Dominic Symington which has gone from strength to strength. Vale do Bomfim was launched into the North American market to be sold to PPW´s customers and to the Canadian monopolies under the Dow brand.

Coincidentally, our move into DOC coincided with the launch also in 1999 of a number of other important projects in the region including Quinta do Vale de Meão, Quinta do Vallado and a series of new wines from Niepoort, in a movement that has come to be called the ‘New Douro’. For the first time, the international press began to take a serious interest in quality still wines from the region and many of the region´s DOC pioneers such as Quinta do Crasto made important investments in upgrading their production facilities with improved quality in mind.

Our first true success with DOC came with the launch of the first super premium red wine from the newly formed Prats &

Symington partnership, which we named Chryseia, meaning `Douro´ in Greek. The 2000 Chryseia, made from an equal mix of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca and matured in new 400-litre French oak barrels, was an instant sensation when launched in 2002, with demand in Portugal skyrocketing once it was discovered by local wine merchants that we had sold a greater part of the production to a series of French Négociants for resale on the classic Bordeaux ´Place´. The very next release, the 2001 Chryseia, made headlines as the first Douro DOC wine to reach the Wine Spectator´s coveted Top 100 list. A second wine, Post Scriptum, was launched in 2004, and in the same year we acquired a dedicated vineyard for P & S, Quinta do Perdiz, in the Rio Torto valley. It had always been the intention of P & S to purchase its own vineyard and various unsuccessful offers had already been made for prominent quintas that had come up for sale.

Quinta de Roriz Reserva, made by the SFE winemaking team, managed to win a series of important awards in Portugal for its first three releases, and on the strength of this a new DOC winery was built at Roriz in 2004. Distribution in Portugal remained an issue however, and disappointment with the sales performance led to a formal dissolving of the partnership with João van Zeller in 2007, with SFE selling its shares in the business outright. Fortunately, within eighteen months, at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, the Roriz business was offered back to us. We immediately took up the opportunity to re-invest in such a familiar high-quality property, but recognising that we were still looking for additional vineyard land for P & S as well as a dedicated winery, SFE offered to share the purchase with the Prats family under P & S. Quinta de Roriz has now become the dominant component of Chryseia, with P & S winemaking now based at the Roriz winery under Miguel Bessa. Miguel Ferreira has been responsible for sales development in Portugal and for sales support for the SFE export team. The nomination of Chryseia 2011 as the third best wine in the world in 2014 by the Wine Spectator was a high point for the joint venture. With sales having grown beyond the capacity of the existing facility, an expansion of the winery was undertaken to be ready in time for the 2021 vintage.

In 2009 we released a Douro DOC estate wine from Quinta do Vesúvio for the first time. We had conducted various experiments over the years, but only with the 2007 wine did we manage to produce a wine at the level that we aspired to. Both Quinta do Vesúvio and its partner wine, Pombal do Vesúvio, are made from the superlative Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca varieties in different proportions, but we often add some 10% of Tinta Amarela to give a distinctive profile to the wine. Grapes are picked at different altitudes to blend complexity with freshness. These wines, being relatively newer than some of their peers, are

‘Quinta do Ataíde and its neighbours, Macieira and Carrascal, now represent our largest plantings of vineyard dedicated mainly to DOC, with much of it farmed organically.’

Rupert Symington

still relatively small in volume compared to the potential of the estate, but there has been encouraging growth. We have recently added a third wine to the portfolio: the unoaked, smooth, and vibrant Comboio do Vesúvio.

In 2016 we released a further pair of premium red wines under the Quinta do Ataíde label for the first time. Quinta do Ataíde and its neighbours, Macieira and Carrascal, now represent our largest plantings of vineyard dedicated mainly to DOC, with much of it farmed organically. We are currently in the process of building a spectacular new winery at Ataíde with special attention to sustainability, where we will produce all our premium red Douro DOC wines in future.

With the passing of time, the various brands have grown steadily, passing the 50,000-case mark in 2007 and the 100,000-case mark in 2014. With the addition of two significant private label contracts, in 2020 SFE sold more than 238,000 cases of DOC wines of which 182,000 cases was branded business. In order to manage this growth, we have also expanded the winemaking and commercial teams, and invested significantly in winery fermentation capacity and bulk storage. The complicated bottling planning process and forecasting of wine production requirements is managed seamlessly by the DOC team members Mariana Brito and Cátia Correia. Marketing support is provided by Patrícia Vale Lourenço, working with Cláudia Monteiro (Altano and other brands) and André Almeida (estate wines). Our brands have become well-respected in the market mainly for delivering quality well in excess of the retail price at all levels and have also continued to enjoy excellent international press comment.

Rob Symington and Pedro Leite recently developed a `Wine 2025´ Development Plan to guide the growth of the Douro DOC project over the next few years, with some exciting new proposed additions to the product range. Pedro is now responsible for the execution of this plan with Rupert Symington continuing to oversee the project in the role of Director responsible for DOC. We are confident that with these additions to the range, we will have a sufficiently comprehensive offering at all price levels to continue the strong category growth that SFE has experienced over the last few years. We are also optimistic that with strong leadership by SFE, we will manage to begin to expand the overseas market for premium Douro DOC. Building on the success of the last twenty years, we have every confidence that our Douro DOC business will become an even more important part of our overall wine offering over the next twenty years.

The small 18th Century manor of Quinta do Ataíde.

Pedro Correia, senior winemaker Douro and Alentejo DOC wines.

QUINTA DO ATAÍDE –A WINERY FOR THE FUTURE

First LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified winery in Portugal

Rob Symington and Luís Loureiro

In January 2021, we began the construction of a new low-impact winery at our Vilariça Valley property of Quinta do Ataíde, which together with its satellite vineyards of Assares, Canada, Carrascal, and Macieira has the largest area of certified organic vineyard in the north of Portugal. We had to defer the beginning of construction by one year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Quinta do Ataíde winery will be ready in time for the 2023 vintage.

The design of the new state-of-the-art winery has been approved for LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and to that end it has been assessed against the highest standards of resource efficiency and environmental responsibility. It will become the first LEED certified winery in Portugal and one of the first in the world to attain the comprehensive LEED v4 level, which addresses energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, day lighting and waste reduction.

The construction of this advanced winery is inspired by (and is part of) our long-term commitment to sustainability and innovation. As Portugal’s first certified B Corporation wine company, we are implementing a far-reaching sustainability strategy across our entire process from vineyard to bottle. The winery will produce the Quinta do Ataíde estate wines, and other premium Douro DOC wines in the Symington portfolio.

A computer-generated image of our future Quinta do Ataíde winery.

Organically certified vineyards

Over the last decade and a half, we have gradually created a very considerable collection of vineyards in the Vilariça Valley, a unique area within the Douro demarcation’s easternmost subregion — the Douro Superior. Unlike the main Douro Valley, which has just a little over 50% of the world total of mountain vineyard area, the Vilariça Valley is by contrast characterised by softly undulating terrain. The district is also the hottest and driest of the Douro wine producing areas and this combination of soft terrain relief, climate and soils lends itself to organic agriculture.

The first organic certification was achieved for the Assares vineyard in 2006, followed by Ataíde and Canada in 2010 and later by Macieira. The Carrascal parcels, virtually contiguous to Ataíde are in the certification process and once this is concluded the total area of organically farmed vineyard area will increase from 127.5 to 158 hectares.

With such a significant organically farmed vineyard holding concentrated in the Vilariça Valley, the principal axis of our Douro dry wine production has largely shifted from the Cima Corgo subregion to this remote area of the Douro. It was therefore a natural and logical decision to build our new still wines winery in this location, not least because it’s a necessary and complementary element to the vineyards, underpinning the active pursuit of sustainability in our entire winemaking operations.

(Below) A computer-generated image showing one of the 24 skylights that will provide natural light, as well as air renewal inside the building.

(Right) Construction underway of the main winery hall during May, 2022.

Site and environmental considerations

The selection of the new winery site wasn’t left to chance. An exhaustive study was made of the various Symington family properties in the Vilariça Valley to choose the best location for the construction of a winery with the very specific and unique characteristics envisaged. The site selected is ideal, both in terms of the winery’s integration in the surrounding landscape and feasibility with regard to its interaction with the available infrastructure in the area. We had to consider such diverse aspects as soil type and nature, transport access and the topography, where terrain relief could be best exploited for the kind of multi-level building that we projected.

The intent is to harness and use gravity as far as possible for the movement of grapes, ferments and vinified batches within the facility. In short, gravity feed (also referred to as gravity flow) will feature heavily in the building’s layout to save as much energy as possible and to relegate the use of pumps to an absolute minimum, thereby maximising wine quality. The staggered layout means that gravity can be used to relay the grapes from winery reception to the next level down — the main winemaking hall, and subsequently to the area where the finished wines will be stored.

The winery is being built on a rise completely surrounded by swathes of organic vines, taking in view the vineyards of Ataíde itself, but also Canada, Carrascal and Macieira. The winery is thus strategically placed within ready access of all of these, easing the swift relay of freshly picked grapes to the facility at harvest time. Ideally, the winery is close to a municipal road that puts it within easy reach of the local main road network and the nearby town of Vila Flor.

There are manifold qualitative and environmental benefits in the winery’s location. The fact the grapes are harvested on the winery doorstep ensures that none of their freshness is lost, which will impact positively on the quality of the wines produced here. Moreover, proximity of the grapes to the winery also translates into a lower carbon footprint, given that they need no longer be transported to an off-site facility for vinification.

The considerable investment in the construction of the Quinta do Ataíde winery reflects our ambition of pushing the boundaries with regard to environmental conservation. The architectural solutions chosen for the building’s construction and the winemaking philosophy it embodies were guided by the fundamental desire to reduce carbon emissions, to optimise efficient and clean energy use, to obviate the strain on limited water resources and to merge the building into the landscape in order to minimise its environmental impact.

Solar panels will line the roof’s entire perimeter and will generate all the facility’s energy requirements.

Architectural and winemaking considerations — ‘form following function’

The underlying architectural premise for the winery’s construction sought to conciliate the purely geometric aspects of the building’s construction and functionalities with the natural flow of the landscape in which it is anchored.

From a reading of the landscape, we first sought solutions for the accommodation of the large winery hall, searching for the most seamless possible integration with the terrain. Once this structuring aspect was worked out, we were then able to look at the best layout for the supporting buildings.

We were very fortunate to find a site where the irregular relief of the sloping terrain proved perfect for the laying down of a multilevel building. This was a defining consideration given that our winemakers want to use gravity flow as much as possible to further refine their winemaking practices. The avoidance of mechanical pumping in the various stages of winemaking helps to preserve the aromas and flavours in wine as well as preserving other qualitative aspects.

May, 2022: placement of the roof’s supporting curved steel beams. An intricate framework of wooden panels were then placed atop these, forming the roof itself.

The grape reception area with the de-stemmers will be located at the highest point, from where the grapes will be graded and gently crushed prior to gravity transfer to the fermentation vats.

At an intermediate level we’ll have the passageways atop the vats and at the opposite end of the hall, the support labs, winemakers’ offices and other general supporting activity offices as well as staff facilities such as changing rooms, rest areas, bathrooms, etc.

One further storey down, at the lowest level of the building will be the principal vinification hall where all the fermentation vats will be housed, and in partitioned areas the barrel cellars and large stainless-steel storage tanks where the final made wines will be aged/stored.

The uppermost storey will have a panoramic tasting room, with access to a sizeable veranda with commanding views facing south along the Vilariça Valley towards the Douro River in the far distance. The main winery hall, two levels down (on the north side) will also be visible from the tasting room.

The green roof with its indigenous vegetative cover acts as a temperature regulator of the building’s interior and incorporates numerous skylights which control the natural light inside the building as well as naturally renewing the air of the main winery hall.

(Above) Cutaway of the winery, showing the grape reception area (left); the main fermentation hall (centre) and the storage areas to the right.

(Below) On site meeting in June, 2021 where the Symington civil engineering team met with building contractors and suppliers.

THE NEW QUINTA DO ATAÍDE WINERY

IN 10 POINTS:

1. SYMINGTON’S NEW DOURO DOC HOME:

The winery will produce our premium and super-premium Douro DOC wines and will initially be capable of producing 691,000 litres of wine, with scope for expanding capacity in the future.

2. FIRST LEED CERTIFIED WINERY IN PORTUGAL:

The project aims to be the first LEED certified winery in Portugal and the first in the world to attain the highest standards under LEED v4. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. Perhaps the best-known LEED certified winery in the world is at the University of California – Davis.

3. ENVIRONMENTAL AND LANDSCAPE INTEGRATION:

The design/layout of the winery, it’s location and the vegetative cover of the roof were decided in such a way as to integrate the building in the surrounding natural landscape, nestling amongst the organic vineyards. It makes maximum use of sloping reliefs to accommodate itself in the terrain causing as little disruption as possible. Careful landscaping around the building using indigenous vegetation will help to minimize its impact and to control the ambient temperature around the winery.

4. GRAVITY FLOW WINERY:

By exploiting the uneven, sloping terrain, the winery layout will allow for a noninterventionist movement of grapes, musts and wine around the facility, avoiding the use of mechanical pumps. This is known to impact very positively on premium winemaking.

5. GREEN BUILDING:

The impressive 2,700m2 curving roof will be covered with indigenous vegetation, reflecting the biodiversity and ecosystem of the surrounding area and this will help to regulate the temperature in the winery interior. This vegetation was sourced locally and transferred to a nursery, ready to be replanted on the roof when the time comes. The exterior walls will also be partially covered with vegetation to help accommodate the building in the landscape.

6. ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

The winery will be a ‘positive energy building’, producing more electricity from its own solar panels (700m2 — integrated in the building’s roof) than it needs. Surplus power will be fed to the national grid all year apart from during the harvest.

7. WATER EFFICIENCY:

The winery will have maximum water efficiency and captures 100% LEED credits in this regard. The winery will have its own supply of water and a water treatment plant which will ensure all the winery’s water requirement. Rainwater will be captured for other uses, for example, irrigation of the green area around the building. Wastewater will be treated in the on-site water treatment facility, and this will then also be used for watering the landscaped area surrounding the winery.

8. ZERO IMPACT:

Drainage from rainfall will not provoke terrain erosion and the landscaping around the building is designed to capture rainwater in such a way as to control sudden flows of water (flooding), whilst retaining as much water as possible for natural irrigation of the surrounding vegetation.

THE ATAÍDE WINERY IN FIGURES

9. CARBON CAPTURE:

The Ataíde Winery project has leveraged the research undertaken by an inter-departmental team within Symington into carbon capture during the fermentation process. The aim is not just to avoid CO2 release during vinification but also to capture it and convert into a calcium carbonate compound that can be used to regulate soil pH. Ongoing studies and trials by this Symington team are leading the field in Portugal in this technology.

10. SUSTAINABILITY AND WELL-BEING:

The building materials and the construction techniques employed all follow sustainable parameters. Electric car charging points will be available on-site and the surrounding green areas, with landscaped gardens, paths and observation points will allow the observation of local species (birdwatching, etc).

A computer-generated image of the winery’s main fermentation hall.

WINE TOURISM A Strategic Growth Area of Our Business

Frederico Mourão

The new extension to the Vinum restaurant (and Graham’s Lodge) terrace and exterior lounge area.

The Quinta do Bomfim Visitor Centre, inaugurated in 2015.

Our investment in wine tourism began in earnest in 2013 with the refurbishing of the Graham’s Lodge and the opening of Vinum, a wine-themed restaurant with an umbilical association with one of Vila Nova de Gaia’s best known port lodges. This paved the way for rapid growth in what has undoubtedly become a strategic area of development for our company.

After Graham’s, and in quick succession, we opened the Quinta do Bomfim Visitor Centre in 2015 and the Cockburn’s Lodge in 2017. As with Graham’s 1890 Lodge, our aim was to provide our visitors with memorable experiences, by showcasing the best that we produce and by telling the story of who we are and what we stand for. Since the visitor centres were opened, more than one million visitors have passed through them and we believe that they have become ambassadors of our brands, able to share with others the passion and the values that characterise Symington Family Estates. The visitor centres and the restaurants have received, in their respective categories, a string of Best of Wine Tourism awards from Great Wine Capitals in recognition of the very high-quality experiences that they provide.

The success, recognition and reach achieved by these projects encouraged us to take stock and reflect from 2020 on the strategic direction to give to the wine tourism arm of our company, creating an ambitious expansion plan — not just for the further development of our existing projects but also to embark on new ones. The aim is to create ever more exclusive and memorable visitor experiences that reflect our authenticity, innovative spirit, and excellence as well as the social and environmental motivations of the company.

Not long after, in March 2020, we were taken by surprise by covid-19, an unprecedented pandemic in our lifetimes, which had a profound impact on tourism throughout the world, drastically reducing travel whilst at the same time seeing the introduction of wide-ranging measures around the world, which immediately curtailed our activity. This was most acutely felt during the two lockdown periods, in the second quarter of 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021.

At Symington, however, we took these challenging events in our stride, converting our energy and focus into new opportunities, rapidly adapting our operation to meet the ‘new normal’ head on and rethinking many of our initiatives and modus operandi accordingly.

The Casa dos Ecos pop up restaurant, set amidst the vineyards of Quinta do Bomfim, was and continues to be a great success.

(Right) The Bomfim 1896 Restaurant with Pedro Lemos, which opened on June 10th (Portugal’s National Day), 2022.

Starting with the visitor centres, we strove to innovate and differentiate, focusing on providing our visitors with a sense of safety and comfort with a comprehensive set of ‘covidsafe’ measures. We launched initiatives directed at proximity markets, particularly Portugal but also Spain and France. Determined to continue providing unique experiences, even to those confined to their homes, we devised online tastings so that people could continue to sample, enjoy, and learn about our fine wines. We set up family-oriented visits, improved the quality of our gastronomic offering and created special food and wine pairing events.

And we didn’t stop there. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we launched a new pop-up concept in the Douro — the Casa dos Ecos restaurant amidst the vines at Quinta do Bomfim in partnership with Michelin-starred Chef Pedro Lemos. Just four months later, Casa dos Ecos was granted the ‘Best of Wine Tourism Award’ as the best wine restaurant of the year. We reopened Casa dos Ecos in 2021 (following the winter closure and the second major lockdown), introducing some further improvements to what was already a very popular and successful concept and embarked on three fresh initiatives.

First, the creation of a new experience at Quinta do Vesúvio, one of the best-known Douro quintas, where we aimed to offer an authentic, highly exclusive visiting experience. Directed at couples and small groups this is an immersive experience where visitors spend the better part of a day becoming acquainted with the vineyard’s history and the Symington family’s wines. Also included is a four-wheel drive around the quinta’s extensive vineyards which enjoy some of the best panoramic views of the surrounding wine country and the Douro River. The visit also includes a tasting of the property’s premium wines as well as a lunch served on the magnificent veranda overlooking the Douro. The food, wines and views combine to provide an unforgettable experience.

Secondly, we inaugurated a new visitor centre at our newly acquired vineyard estate in the Alentejo: Quinta da Fonte Souto near Portalegre. In this beautiful spot, which encapsulates the essence of this unique demarcation, visitors learn about the history of winemaking there and the range of wines that we now produce there. Guided tastings of the wines are also provided.

‘Just four months after it opened, Casa dos Ecos was granted the ‘Best of Wine Tourism Award’ as the best wine restaurant of the year. We reopened Casa dos Ecos in 2021 (following the winter closure and the second major lockdown), introducing some further improvements to what was already a very popular and successful concept.’

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we launched a new pop-up concept in the Douro — the Casa dos Ecos restaurant amidst the vines at Quinta do Bomfim in partnership with Michelin-starred Chef Pedro Lemos.

For nature and outdoor lovers, picnics can be enjoyed amidst the vineyards and bicycles are available for cycling around the property.

Lastly, we decided to make further improvements to our offering at the Graham’s lodge with the extension of the outdoor terrace that enjoys perhaps some of the best views of the old quarter of the city of Porto with its famous double-decker bridge. The newly extended terrace now features a comfortable open air lounge area adjoining the Vinum restaurant, served by a bar. It is an excellent spot to unwind with family and friends whilst enjoying one of the best views of Porto. The extended terrace and new lounge area (inaugurated a few months after this article was written) have given an extra dimension to the visiting experiences of both the visitors of the Graham’s Lodge and to patrons of Vinum restaurant.

These have been two challenging years, full of new projects which have given us fresh impetus to embark on further exciting ideas in the wine tourism and hospitality and food & beverage areas of our company. We make no secret of our ambition to further develop our existing visitor centres and to create differentiated experiences in our quintas, both of which will strengthen our connection with our customers. The experience of the last few years has shown us the enormous benefit that our wine tourism offering has brought to the visibility of our brands and to the reputation of our company.

During the first semester of 2022 we will open a new restaurant (see inset alongside this article) at Quinta do Bomfim with Chef Pedro Lemos, maintaining the successful partnership begun with the Casa dos Ecos project [the Bomfim 1896 Restaurant was inaugurated just weeks before this magazine was due to go to press]. We believe this restaurant will set a new benchmark in the Douro, challenging everything that is currently available with its combination of fine dining and an impressive wine list.

The challenges and the responsibility to deliver new experiences, which measure up to the levels of excellence of our wines are by no means small, but we believe we have the right ingredients (particularly in our amazing team) to be up to the task. Our ambition is that Symington will be the ‘go to’ for wine tourism and hospitality experiences.

The proven success of our partnership with Pedro Lemos in the Casa dos Ecos provided a natural stepping stone for the ‘Bomfim 1896 Restaurant with Pedro Lemos.’

MORE THAN A STORY OF MACHINES, A STORY OF PEOPLE

New bottling line at Quinta de Santo António

António Marquez Filipe

How many companies in the world, in the wine and spirits business dared invest €5.5 million in a new bottling line in a pandemic scenario such as the world had not experienced in more than 100 years? An investment planned and decided in 2020 and undertaken in 2021 over an intense and hectic 18-month period, involving many moving parts and reflected in the heightened challenges of the project and the pressures placed on the implementation teams.

The numbers for the new bottling line are truly impressive: 16 different bottle formats can be handled with set-up times that are 25% below what we had before. Maximum bottling throughput (potentially) of 12,000 bottles an hour. Production capacity to bottle to finished product; semi-finished product and from semi-finished to finished product. It is one of the most advanced systems of its kind in terms of synchronisation of the integrated machines necessary to fill, stopper, label and pack bottles. It features optimised lubrification of the bottle conveyors with integrated throughput management to maximise productivity and minimise collisions between bottles along the line as well as a latest generation, innovative Clean in Place system — totally developed in Portugal. And, last but not least, the facility features a series of systems that ensure line control, including artificial vision for quality control of filling levels and to ensure impeccable presentation of the end product.

With this considerable investment, Symington Family Estates, prepares for the future in a timely manner, well placed to respond to the profound changes underway in the industry, both in terms of the growth of the premium port segment and in the growth in sales of Douro DOC still wines. Additionally, there are the growing demands regarding food safety, quality of presentation, flexibility to accommodate creative design/packaging solutions and the preparation of smaller production batches. All of this done in such a way as to safeguard jobs and to ensure best-inclass sustainability performance.

What is particularly worthy of note, however, is what we managed to achieve as a result of an organised, collective effort by many people, both inside and outside the company, from various countries, from various skill sets and trades. More than the machines, the people involved were the principal protagonists.

The new Quinta de Santo António bottling line is one of the most advanced systems of its kind in terms of synchronisation of the integrated machines necessary to fill, stopper, label and pack bottles.

This was only possible, from the outset, because of the confidence and vision with which the company board entrusted the project team once the business case and the respective investment were approved.

Long, wide-ranging and meticulous activity planning prepared by a small, agile and highly motivated team allowed this ambitious project to advance without any hiccups, bringing to the fore our innovation and leadership values, notwithstanding the challenges imposed by the pandemic and the inevitable safety measures — not to mention disrupted logistical chains and unexpected changes to specifications along the way.

Working closely with our Infrastructure Management team, winemaking and Order & Supply teams, we put in place all the necessary resources to ensure that this enormous technological puzzle could reach a successful outcome.

We are also very proud of the work done with 13 subcontracted companies, domestic and international (from four different countries). Denied the possibility of international travel during the majority of this 18-month period, we were able to adapt to this new reality, maintaining an intense and permanent multilateral dialogue with all of them. These learnings of new ways of working and relationships will no doubt stand us in good stead in the future.

Finally, when it was time (racing against time), to put everything in motion, it was once again people that made all the difference. In the forefront were the Symington team, Patrick Thompson, Bertolaso, PKS and Perfinox. Over many months of intense work, often involving personal sacrifice, putting their personal and family life in second place, and showing commitment well beyond what would be expected of them, they channeled all their passion and pride into their work to render operational what is today an international reference in the field of bottling operations. And we’re already thinking about the next project!

(Left) It is remarkable what we managed to achieve as a result of an organised, collective effort by many people, both inside and outside the company, from various countries, from various skill sets and trades.

(Below) How many companies in the world, in the wine and spirits business dared invest €5.5 million in a new bottling line in a pandemic scenario such as the world had not experienced in more than 100 years?

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO PORT HAS GONE BEFORE The

First Year of School of Port

Nicole Santos

To talk about port has never been a simple exercise, but that’s no reason to dim our enthusiasm. Launched in 2020, School of Port is an educational platform created under the aegis of Symington, although with no direct affiliation to any of its brands. It has already trained approximately 1,570 people through online sessions and in-person masterclasses and has shown that it is possible to adopt an entertaining approach in communicating a complex category, characterised by a multiplicity of wine styles, elaborate wine and producer hierarchies and varied house styles, to mention just a few aspects.

Communicating effectively is an art and striving to do so is the very least that we owe to port’s rich legacy. It is important to communicate clearly and in an engaging manner, and to offer regular educational and training programs both for lay people and professionals. These must be aligned with the pace and expectations of younger generations and contemporary lifestyles.

Occasionally, we hear comments like, ‘it’s on the sweet side’; ‘it’s a little strong’, etc. Some people automatically associate port with formality and tradition, and sometimes exclusively with Christmas, while others tend to think of it as a male preserve, which couldn’t be further from reality. These are some of the clichés that we need to deconstruct.

Even for some wine and spirits professionals, ours is a category that may not be as well understood as it could be. They may be forgiven for not taking their time to get to know port better when many other beverages are perhaps easier to understand and to serve.

(Left) Isabel Monteiro, one of School of Port’s engaging presenters, demystifies the category’s complexities.

School of Port has shown that it is possible to adopt an entertaining approach in communicating a complex category, characterised by a multiplicity of wine styles, elaborate wine and producer hierarchies and varied house styles.

We must of course draw confidence from the certainty that the Douro is just as relevant now as it has always been. It continues to be the birthplace of some of the world’s finest wines, which account for the biggest slice of Portugal’s total wine exports and, by extension, continue to play their role as the country’s principal wine ambassadors. The breathtaking Douro landscapes and its rich history continue to impress and fascinate.

There’s a whole new generation of consumers, and not just younger people but also those potentially interested but who have no time for a narrative that is excessively traditional and conservative, which still characterises much of the communication put out by industry bodies that attempt to defend and promote port’s image.

The industry needs to modernise further, to divest itself of formality and to fully adapt to the 21st century consumer. It needs to do this, of course, without reneging on its immense and valuable legacy but showing that port has everything to be relevant to a contemporary lifestyle.

It was in this challenging context (made no easier by the onset of the covid-19 pandemic) that Symington, with the natural authority of a company that owns a collection of port houses with centuries-old traditions and able to draw on its own fivegenerations of experience, sought to launch an open project that aims to address the needs of the industry, particularly with regard to providing education and training.

It was from this premise that School of Port was born, a tool from the Symington stable that is purely educational with the mission of providing education on port, and in promoting and upholding the Douro Demarcated Region’s legacy.

Our target audience, by its very nature, also poses some challenges. On the one hand we want to be the resource that was lacking for those already in some way linked professionally to the industry with a modicum of knowledge (salespeople, wine retail staff, restaurant personnel, sommeliers, etc), whilst at the same time we didn’t want to leave anybody out. We aimed to reach out also to those with very little or no knowledge. In both cases this involves not just teaching new subject matter but also deconstructing any residual preconceptions, stereotypes and generalisations.

One might expect that the Portuguese consumer, at least, would not be so detached from what is often termed a national treasure, but alas this is not the case. Even domestically we find recurrent examples of deep-rooted preconceptions that are hard to counter.

So, we rolled up our sleeves! Together with our sales team and with inputs from the markets, we created specific, innovative communication tools for professionals, and at the same time made available varied content for all those with an interest in port.

In less than a year, School of Port qualified approximately 1,570 people online and organised more than 20 in-person masterclasses. Given the increasing requests for educational training we decided to go one step further and provide the masterclasses content as a video course – ‘The Essentials’. This was entirely produced in-house and is available on schoolofport. com. It allows people to learn at their chosen pace and as the name indicates, it provides all the essential information on the production of port and on the Douro Demarcated Region. It has already qualified just over 1,000 people since it was made available in September 2021. Over 80% of those taking the course have a direct link to wine, which confirms the growing need for educational initiatives for these professionals — just as we had foreseen.

The ‘Cocktail Series’ was a School of Port segment specifically geared to the bar and cocktail scene in which different awardwinning mixologists from the city of Porto were invited to create original bespoke cocktails in which port would be one of the principal ingredients. The initiative successfully stimulated the relationship between port and the cocktail world and demonstrated that port and creativity can go hand in hand, and above all, started a ‘conversation’ that was a long time coming.

More recently and in response to the most frequently asked questions on the internet, we created a set of tutorial videos on Youtube — the ‘Portorials’. In this series, the viewer is taken on a virtual journey through some of the most emblematic locations of Porto and the country, in some way linked to the wine. The shows are hosted by different people with specific knowledge of and experience in varied subject matter.

We continue to share daily (free access) all sorts of educational content on School of Port’s different platforms, which are regularly updated. The weekend ‘Expert Q&As’ are undoubtedly one of the most successful segments of School of Port. Every weekend we invite our followers on Instagram to pose questions on port and the Douro, whatever they might be because our belief is that there’s no such thing as a stupid question! We have already fielded over 200 queries which may be consulted on Instagram or on the website.

There’s still a great deal of ground to cover, however. This project has great potential for further growth. Having reached cruising speed as it enters its second year, there are new initiatives in the works. Stay tuned to School of Port — brought to you by the port mad people at @symingtonfamily estates.

(Above) Turn the cover and immerse yourself in all the knowledge that School of Port can provide on this fascinating wine.

(Left) In less than a year, School of Port qualified approximately 1,570 people online and organized more than 20 in-person masterclasses.

PORTFOLIO VINHOS

– FIRST YEAR AT THE HELM

Diogo Melo e Castro looks back over his first year at Portfolio

When at 00:01 hours of January 1st , 2020, bottles of port and champagne were popped around Portugal to usher in the new year, and glasses were raised high to make jovial toasts to happiness and success, nobody could have imagined what the immediate future had in store. In fact, the year that had just been left behind gave us reason to believe with a realistic degree of optimism that the national debt crisis years of 2011-2014 (IMF and EU bailout) were a distant memory, confined to the history books.

The unpredictable crisis provoked by the covid-19 coronavirus, which was rapidly declared a pandemic — bluntly hitting Portugal as everywhere else from March 2020 — put an abrupt halt to years of growth of premium still wines and premium ports. This healthy growth had contributed to some of the highest per capita consumption figures for premium still wines and had significantly revitalised the premium port category. The country was ordered to stay home; hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and cafés closed, and tourism evaporated. From one day to another the variables which had ramped up the growth of our business were gone. We were left with the strong dynamic and capacity to adapt of the retail sector which reinforced its online services and thereby managed to maintain its chain of

(Above, right) Bruno Prats and Diogo Melo e Castro host wine writers during a presentation of wines produced by Prats & Symington and represented in Portugal by Portfolio Vinhos.

Portfolio Vinhos takes every opportunity to make direct contact with consumers, up and down the country.

supply without too much disruption. However, it became clear that the growth in the off-trade channel notwithstanding, this would be insufficient to compensate for all the losses incurred by the closure of on-trade business (hospitality and on-premise food & beverage).

The significant negative impact on the business, compounded by the successive lockdowns through 2020, forced us to rethink the foundations of our distribution strategy, which despite having sustained a decade of success now showed itself wanting when confronted with the stress-test of the pandemic and revealing it had run its course as a premise for further growth. Thus, it became imperative to redefine our market approach, furnishing Portfolio Vinhos with the necessary means to launch a second wave of growth. Our vision to elevate the business to become the industry reference in Portugal — in keeping with the leadership of our mother company, Symington Family Estates — made this an absolute necessity.

Our starting point in the reconstruction of our ‘building’ began with the foundations, namely in defining the three pillars on which our strategy is anchored. Therefore, to make

Portfolio Vinhos the trade’s preferred business partner — representing the brands that consumers will want to adopt — required us to:

1) GAIN DIMENSION

Focus to build a distribution network at the very top of the game

Cater for the market with a specialised team, capable and motivated and always willing to review methods with a view to constantly improve the modus operandi so as to achieve our objectives, using resources sparingly, assuring a balanced and sustainable value chain in the long term.

2) GAIN FINESSE To be the category leader

To represent a comprehensive range, rich and complementary, of recognisably premium and super premium producers to reinforce and/or consolidate the reputation and the worth of the brands that we represent.

3) GAIN MUSCLE Building scale and relevance for the trade

Offering market leading brands in specific segments, of undoubted quality and reputation that reinforce Portfolio Vinhos’ position as the trade’s distributor of choice. Following on from this exercise, we identified four key battlegrounds (key areas of intervention) in which we want to engage to identify the principal projects to which we want to direct our energies to construct our ‘building’:

Key-Battleground 1: Building world level distribution.

We launched several initiatives with a view to restructuring our operation and furnishing it with the means necessary for success in a business environment that is increasingly competitive and predatory. As a general outline, this plan entailed: reviewing the human resources strategy (motivated and empowered team); creating a marketing department (for greater proximity with the market); allocating a resource 100% dedicated to our Riedel Glass representation (generated exceptional results); specific training for the commercial team (sales techniques and customer management); creating incentive, behavioral and credit concession manuals; establishing annual planning cycles, aligned with our principal shareholder and other stakeholders; restructuring our customer service (to attain as near perfect a supply chain as possible); developing a performance appraisal system (attract and retain talent).

Key-Battleground 2: Distribution Strategy – multichannel approach

To gain relevance in the on-trade, we implemented a new way-ofworking, setting up a national web of distributor partners, backed up by our on-trade team and sales levers — made to measure for regional specificities and to best fit each brand. To gain scale in the off-trade, Portfolio Vinhos still needs to reinforce its range offering with brands that generate considerable sales volumes in the price brackets that command the market (97.5% of wine sold in Portugal is positioned below a RRP of €7.5). Another area requiring our attention was the Direct to Consumer (‘DTC’) approach, including an evaluation of the opportunities and risks involved and subsequently launching the basis of the project, which will take shape through 2022.

Key-Battleground 3: Management of the brand portfolio

Essentially, this entails elevating the equity of the brands we represent through careful pricing management, both in the on and off-trades, searching for new brands that complement those we already handle (that are a good fit with these) as well as high-end family wine projects. Other important aspects involve improving Portfolio Vinhos’ relationships with the producers it represents (centering this in the marketing department); a clear distinction of what constitute strategic, investment, tactical and support brands; innovation in new brands and formats (challenging producers to go beyond their comfort zones); ensure the efficiency of supply chains and stock management to provide the best possible service to Portfolio’s customers.

The Portfolio and Symington teams work closely together to leverage the awareness and distribution of Symington Family Estates wines.

Key-Battleground 4: Profitability

In an increasingly competitive business environment, our company’s route to sustainability in the long term necessarily involves a shift in mindset towards a culture of profitability in all our business decisions, in all our operations and in all our daily ways of working. To list just a few examples, this entails such varied aspects as: constant scrutiny of the value chain (so that all the links show healthy margins); laying down clear commercial guidelines (to identify exactly what we shouldn’t do) and prioritizing a culture of premiumisation — protecting brand equities so that they are more resistant to price wars.

Looking back on all the initiatives that we launched, that we completed, whilst pondering all that we still must do, it seems almost unbelievable that only twelve months have gone by…

However, of one thing we’re certain at Portfolio Vinhos — the best is yet to come!

Portfolio Vinhos is proud to represent and distribute Riedel fine wine glassware in the Portuguese market.

VINTAGE PORT · ONE WINE, TWO EXPRESSIONS

An overview of recent Classic Vintage and Quinta Vintage Ports

Harry Symington

Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, located in the remote Douro Superior.

The Douro Valley is one of the most remarkable and exciting regions to produce wine. With great variations in altitude, aspect, soil, and temperature, the Douro is made up of many different microclimates, each producing a unique expression of any specific year. Given that the top estates for each of our port houses are spread across this mountainous terrain, it takes a rare constellation of events to create the conditions for us to bottle classic Vintage Port – which is made from the best wines produced from each port house’s prime vineyards across the Douro.

Our approach is simple and guided by what we can deliver each year. We will only bottle classic Vintage Ports in years when the conditions across the Douro region are consistently favourable throughout the growing season and harvest, resulting in impeccable maturations and wines of extraordinary complexity. This is the absolute pinnacle of what we produce in the Douro and we are committed to bottling it in only the most exceptional years, which historically has been around 2 or 3 times a decade.

In years when the quality is more localised or is limited to the best parcels in our top quintas, we choose to bottle small quantities of single estate Vintage Port. Our prime estates such as Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, and Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim have enough variations to deliver the depth and complexity required to produce single quinta Vintage Port. In non-declared years, these wines are the best of what we produce and represent the ultimate expression of specific terroirs in the Douro. Naturally, we never bottle these single estate Vintage Ports in the same year as our classic Vintage Port declarations, as the former represent the key components of the latter.

(Above) Intimate knowledge of our vineyards across the Douro Valley allows us to make the right call when deciding to bottle a Classic Vintage or a Quinta Vintage Port.

(Right) It is incumbent on each generation to consolidate our family’s fine reputation for producing outstanding Vintage Ports.

‘The 2018 Quinta Senhora da Ribeira represents just 8% of the Quinta’s production. It is more compact, a bit more standoffish compared to some of the other single quinta 2018s that I tasted. It gradually warms up, revealing marine notes, seaweed and oyster shells tincturing the black fruit. The palate is super-smooth on the entry with plush, saturated tannins, quite spicy and peppery with an assertive, structured finish that is quintessentially Dow’s. Superb.’

2018 & 2019 QUINTA VINTAGE PORTS

Following the unprecedented back-to-back classic Vintage Port declarations of 2016 and 2017, we have had two years when we decided that the quality was localised at our top quintas.

2018 was a rollercoaster of a year, consisting of a winter drought, a deluge in spring, and heatwaves through the final ripening period. Our viticulture teams navigated the challenges throughout the year and were rewarded with concentrated berries and excellent maturations. Yields were extremely low with just 950g per vine – 11% below the 10-year average –resulting in wines with stunning concentration. After reviewing the top parcels from our principal quintas, we decided to bottle small quantities of Vintage Port from our top estates. Reflecting the excellent performance of the late-ripening Touriga Franca, which excelled in the warm harvest days, the wines are characterised by lively, lifted aromas and impeccable balance.

2019 was a year to celebrate the Douro’s remarkably resilient grape varieties in a very dry year. The Douro saw a little over 50% of the average winter rainfall and almost none in the summer. Our ability to closely monitor their varying maturation cycles

Neal Martin,Vinous, June 2020 Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira 2018 Vintage Port

and adjust our picking schedule accordingly meant we were able to deliver the best expression of the different varieties. Charles and his winemaking team exercised their knowledge, experience and patience to wait for the different varieties to achieve balanced maturations – resulting in one of the longest harvests in recent years, lasting six weeks. Our reward was a collection of perfectly ripe grape varieties in good quantities delivering lively and exuberant wines. When conducting our review of the 2019 harvest, we felt that the best expression of our grape varieties came from our six principal quintas. We therefore decided to bottle Vintage Port from these individual estates. We believed these wines could not have been enhanced by blending across each of our port houses’ top quintas to produce a ‘classic’ Vintage Port. With a superb balance between acidity and sugar levels - reflecting the precisely timed harvest - the wines show a remarkable freshness and liveliness, in contrast to the concentration of 2017 and 2018.

‘This is really vivid, with a beautiful range of cassis, cherry purée, boysenberry coulis and plum reduction notes unfurling across the palate while succulent licorice, warm fruitcake and enticing red and black tea notes sing back up. The long, refined finish has plenty in reserve for the long haul. One of the stars of the vintage.’

James Molesworth Wine Spectator, February 2022

Quinta do Vesúvio 2019 Vintage Port

2020 LIMITED EDITION VINTAGE PORTS

After a string of challenging growth cycles and harvests with a combination of unprecedented conditions, we had hoped for a return to a semblance of normality in the Douro. What 2020 showed us, however, was that this is the “new normal” for our region. The impact of climate change is already with us. Erratic rainfall (less overall) and multiple heat waves through the summer months are creating huge challenges for our winemaking teams and delivering increasingly low yields. Fortunately, through the multi-generational knowledge of our estates, our hardworking and experienced viticultural teams, and our various initiatives to adapt to climate change, we are able to navigate these conditions to continue delivering excellent quality wines – albeit in small volumes.

“Grit & Reward” is how we characterised the 2020 harvest at the time, following yet another growth cycle shaped by record weather patterns. While winter and early spring rainfall were roughly in line with the average, the temperatures were higher

than usual — every month apart from April was considerably warmer then the 30-year average. The harvest was unlike any other in recent memory. Grape varieties that usually ripen sequentially needed to be picked at the same time, and we had to be selective, harvesting the grapes with great precision, picking specific parcels by their altitude and cooler-facing aspects. Yields were incredibly low, but some wines of extraordinary complexity were made with a unique profile (for further details on the 2020 harvest, see pages ?? to ??)

The fact that the Douro’s terroir provides such a variety of microclimates is a huge advantage in a year like 2020. After reviewing the top wines from our finest estates across the Douro, it was clear that the Cima Corgo sub-region produced wines of extraordinary quality in minute quantities, and we therefore decided to do an exceptional bottling. We chose to produce two limited edition Vintage Ports from Graham’s and Warre’s – drawn exclusively from a few of the best performing parcels from their estates in the Cima Corgo. These special Vintage Ports mark the historic milestones in 2020 of Graham’s 200 th anniversary and Warre’s 350 th anniversary.

James

Jamessuckling.com, July 2022

Graham’s’s 2020 Bicentenary Vintage Port

GRAHAM’S 2020 VINTAGE PORT – BICENTENARY EDITION

Graham’s 2020 Vintage Port is drawn from high altitude and north-west facing vines across three of Graham’s four estates: Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta da Vila Velha, and Quinta do Tua. This Vintage Port is a unique blend of co-fermented Touriga Nacional & Touriga Franca; co-fermented Sousão & Touriga Nacional (from the prized Stone Terraces at Malvedos); Old mixed vines (field blend); and Alicante Bouschet.

The result is an extraordinarily opulent, intense, and fresh Vintage Port. While it has the classic Graham’s hallmarks, the wine is marked by a unique aromatic complexity and beautifully layered fruit.

In 2022, we released just 3,000 bottles (75cl) en primeur in a special commemorative edition wooden case of 3 x 75cl. The bottles carried the traditional Graham’s Vintage Port label used for iconic 20th century vintages such as the 1963 & 1970.

Quinta dos Malvedos, the core of any Graham’s classic declaration and a Quinta Vintage Port in many non-declared years.

‘A plump and juicy Graham with lots of iodine, plum and sweet-berry character. Some herb and mint, too. Medium-to full-bodied, very sweet and flavorful with lots of length. Fine tannins and refined character. Fresh and delicious.’

Suckling

WARRE’S 2020 VINHAS VELHAS VINTAGE PORT –350 ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Warre’s 2020 Vinhas Velhas Vintage Port is made exclusively from the deep-rooted, horse-ploughed, 80 to 100-year-old mixed vines (field blend) at two of Warre’s estates: Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta do Retiro. These magnificent old vines produced just 380g per vine at Cavadinha and 240g per vine at Retiro. It took three vines to produce one bottle of this Vintage Port – typically it requires just one vine. The cooler aspect of these two estates were of great benefit in 2020 and the old vines were incredibly resilient.

This is the first time we have produced a Warre’s Vintage Port exclusively from the old vines at two of our estates. The wine is intensely fruit-driven with unparalleled concentration and elegance that belies the conditions of the year.

We released just 2,400 bottles (75cl) en primeur in 2022 in a special commemorative edition wooden case of 3 x 75cl.

(Right) The old vines — ‘vinhas velhas’ — at Warre’s Quinta do Retiro vineyard in the Rio Torto.

only 2,400 bottles released. Commemorates Warre’s 350th anniversary.’

James Suckling

Jamessuckling.com, July 2022

Warre’s 2020 Vinhas Velhas Vintage Port

2020 QUINTA VINTAGE PORTS

Such was the quality in the Cima Corgo, that we also chose to bottle and release a small quantity of Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port. We also bottled Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais 2020 Vintage Ports which will age in our cellars for future release. We decided not to bottle Vintage Port from Quinta do Vesúvio because the winery was closed in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. This was the first year since the winery was built in 1827 that no grapes were foot-trodden. Staying true to this tradition, we have decided not to produce a Vesúvio Vintage Port.

LOOKING AHEAD

We do expect to see increasingly challenging years in the Douro as a result of the impact of climate change. Growth cycles will be more unpredictable; harvests are likely to be earlier and shorter; and yields will continue to be low. We are fortunate, however, to have generational knowledge of our vineyards that allows us to farm and harvest our vines with precision – ensuring that our grapes come into the wineries at just the right time and in the best condition.

Due to advances in our vineyards and wineries, we are able to make excellent ports more consistently than previous generations of our family could. We often get asked whether this means that we will make classic Vintage Port declarations more often. Our perspective is that the quality bar has moved up, and we will continue to only produce our classic Vintage Ports when the wines across our estates are uniformly superb.

‘Exciting aromas of lead pencil and graphite with violets and crushed blackberries. A powerful and tannic Warre with dryness for this house. Tight and powerful with wonderful length. Complex and fresh. Three vines to produce one bottle. Old vines. Tiny production with

HOT AND FAST, COOL AND SLOW

An overview of the 2020 and 2021 harvests

Charles Symington, Quinta do Bomfim, October 2020, and October 2021

Grit and Reward: the 2020 Harvest

The 2020 harvest was defined by two challenges – one immediate and the other more wide-ranging, and ultimately far more concerning. Speaking of challenges, the first people to carve vineyards into the mountainsides of the Douro Valley did so with incredible determination, effort, and grit. And so, it is no surprise that today’s generation of Douro grape farmers and harvest workers, viticulturists and winemakers responded to the challenge of adapting to the covid-19 restrictions with quiet competence and resolve. At the same time, they successfully navigated yet another vintage defined by the ever-more-present tests that the climate crisis is throwing at us.

The impact of coronavirus

As we only get one shot at the vintage, it was essential to minimise the risk of covid infections. We implemented a wide-ranging plan to create protective bubbles around the teams. This included testing for every winery worker, many health and safety measures on site, and additional accommodation and canteen facilities to ensure safe levels of social distancing.

This was the first year since we acquired Quinta do Vesúvio in 1989 (and the first year since the winery was built in 1827) that no grapes were foot-trodden in the large granite lagares at the property. Much comment is made about how foot-treading produces superior ports to other methods, and we would agree that this is true in the case of conventional fermentation tanks and plunger mechanisms in stone lagares, which are the techniques of choice in most Douro wineries. Fortunately, we were able to fall back on our modern treading lagares, which we designed ourselves in the late 1990s. The treading devices are fitted with silicon pads which in effect tread the grapes, simulating the action of human feet, providing fantastic levels of colour, aroma and flavour extraction. We only adopted this technique once we were convinced that, as proved by rigorous blind tastings, it consistently produced ports as good as — if not better than — those made with foot-treading.

A precocious growing cycle

Although we have weather stations at various quintas in the Douro Superior and Cima Corgo, we typically use Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim at Pinhão in the heart of the region as a barometer for the overall conditions in the Douro. This year, winter and early spring rainfall readings were roughly in line with the average. However, higher-than-average temperatures (with a particularly warm February, at least 2°C warmer than the 30-year average) caused the vines to emerge from their winter slumber three weeks earlier than usual, with budbreak recorded at Quinta do Bomfim on March 3rd. Flowering also arrived two weeks earlier than normal, beginning on May 5th

(Left) A self-appointed ‘queen of the Douro’ during the 2020 vintage at Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira.

(Below, 2nd picture): Charles Symington’s dog, Zimba, tries to get the Senhora da Ribeira farm manager, Carlos, to give him a bite of his lunch.

Worrying signs of warming

If the overall rainfall levels for 2020 were reassuring, the temperatures were far from it. At Bomfim, every month apart from April was considerably warmer than the 30-year trend. The Douro experienced the hottest July on record, 3.5°C above the average for the region. We also had heat waves in June, August, and September which registered multi-day spikes above the 30-year average maximum temperatures. According to IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera), the period from January to mid-September 2020 was the warmest on record. Globally, climate scientists think 2020 might end up being the hottest year on record (16 of the 17 warmest years since records began in 1850 have happened since 2000).

The good news is that our indigenous varieties are well adapted to hot and dry Douro summers and demonstrate a variety of natural responses to challenging conditions (including reducing berry and bunch sizes and slowing down maturation). There

(Left) Picking at Quinta dos Canais in one of the hottest years in living memory.

(Below) The vintage at Quinta da Fonte Souto was equally challenging but very ably managed by Paulo Isidoro and all the crew.

‘All of us in the Douro are concerned about climate change. As the Mediterranean climate shifts northwards, we face an increase in average temperatures, lower rainfall levels, and more frequent temperature spikes.’

Charles Symington

is also much we can do – and are doing – to adapt to these conditions, from basic techniques around canopy management (and using vineyard layout, altitude, and aspect in our favour), to innovations regarding ancestral varieties, climate forecasting software, vineyard monitoring robots, and vine water stress studies. However, consistently high temperatures (above 35°C), are – without a doubt – a problem for the region.

Juggling the picking schedule

Due to the advanced growing cycle, we were on track for an early harvest. With virtually no rain in June or July, we were relieved to have 12.6 mm fall at Bomfim on 20 th August. However, the rain was followed by three waves of high temperatures lasting until mid-September. With the heat counteracting the benefit of the water – and faced with the threat of berry dehydration – we began picking white grapes (which were in remarkably good condition) from the 25th of August, and the red grapes from September 1st

These heatwaves meant that by early September, yields were substantially reduced compared to our July forecasts (40% lower in some properties). Although a smaller harvest helps with the complicated logistics of grape-picking in the Douro (predominately picked by hand and with frequent labour shortages), this year’s conditions saw varieties that usually ripen sequentially, needing picking at the same time. This was particularly so with the typically late-ripening Touriga Franca, which we decided to pick at the same time as the Touriga Nacional — a very rare occurrence. Nevertheless, our experienced vineyard teams adapted exceptionally well, so that the wineries received each variety in the best possible condition.

The Douro is a low-yielding region even in the bumper years, but 2020 delivered an especially small crop. In some locations in the Douro Superior, we were harvesting only 400g per vine. Our normal yields per hectare are four times less than many other wine regions. When you factor in the high costs of farming our mountain vineyards, it is no wonder that the only viable and responsible future for the Douro involves selling our fantastic wines and ports at the upper end of the market.

The upside

Fortunately, our reward for navigating these challenges was that the unsettlingly low yields resulted in some incredibly concentrated and dark wines. First impressions – confirmed by subsequent tastings – were of particularly promising lagares with balanced Baumés. A comparable harvest is 2009, which was also a very dry and hot year, with low yields that nonetheless delivered small quantities of intense, well-structured Douro wines and ports.

The stand-out in 2020 was Touriga Nacional, which produced wines with excellent structure and good acidity — quite remarkable, given the conditions. Sousão also performed very well. Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Franca were slightly more impacted by the high temperatures, although they did deliver very good quality from more protected slopes and higher elevations. I am pleased with the impact that Sousão and Alicante Bouschet have had on our top ports in recent years, giving us colour, acidity, and structure –especially important in hot and dry years.

The fact that the Douro’s terroir provides such a variety of microclimates is a massive advantage in a year like 2020. It takes a rare constellation of events for quality to be consistently exceptional throughout the region (as was the case in 2011, 2016

(Above) Despite the heat and drought in 2020, the white varieties, including this Arinto at Quinta da Fonte Souto, delivered grapes in fine condition.

(Right) 2020 was very tough on the pickers; if picking grapes under intense heat wasn’t enough, doing it with a mandatory requirement to wear a mask added to the hardship.

and 2017), but the investments we have made in our vineyards and wineries over recent decades mean that we have much greater capacity than previous generations to produce small quantities of stunning Douro wines and ports, even in such challenging conditions as were thrown at us in 2020.

Looking to the future

All of us in the Douro are concerned about climate change. As the Mediterranean climate shifts northwards, we face an increase in average temperatures, lower rainfall levels, and more frequent temperature spikes. Although our grape varieties are resilient –and we have been preparing for climate change for many years – more needs to be done to help grape farmers to adapt (including widespread research into vineyard strategies as well as responsible and sustainable irrigation policies).

ALENTEJO

Contrasting with the swift harvest in the Douro, at Quinta da Fonte Souto the vintage went on for an extraordinary 2 months, from August 19th to October 14th.

The 2020 viticultural year can best be described as mind-boggling — we had to be on our toes and at the top of our game to navigate through the many challenges the year threw at us. The very wet

spring was tricky in terms of disease control, and the very hot summer put the vines under great strain. As if this wasn’t enough, the very unstable conditions during the vintage demanded nerves of steel and large doses of patience — all this in the context of the ongoing pandemic.

From the middle of September, with a substantial proportion of the grapes already picked and because of unsettled climatic conditions (rain and a sharp drop in temperatures), we had to slow the harvesting, and in the case of some varieties which hadn’t yet completed their maturations — interrupt the picking altogether.

We took all these challenges in our stride, mainly due to the resilience and dedication of our team, both in the field and in the winery. Fonte Souto’s privileged location in the São Mamede range was another very influential factor whose enormous benefits cannot be emphasised enough.

This was our most demanding growing season and vintage since arriving here in 2017. There were occasions when we had to rush, and many others when we had to be prepared to wait. That said, we couldn’t have been more satisfied with the wines made. The whites have a surprisingly fresh and vibrant profile, and in the reds, Syrah showed beautifully while Alicante Bouschet (although it came in late towards the curtain call of the harvest) also showed great promise.

The 2020 harvest will be remembered by many as the ‘covid vintage’. Here, the Senhora da Ribeira winery team don their masks as they prepare for another shift.

(Below) Contrasting with the swift harvest in the Douro, at Quinta da Fonte Souto the vintage went on for an extraordinary 2 months, from August 19th to October 14th.

(Left) ‘Pantufa’, Quinta da Fonte Souto’s mascot keeps pickers on their toes during the vintage.

A Cool Interlude: the 2021 Harvest

Although each year has specific characteristics defined by the vagaries of the weather, over the last decade in the Douro we have experienced growth cycles and harvests that have generally tended to be repetitively hot and dry, and some might think that we can be tempted to believe that each successive cycle and harvest will be a rerun of the previous one. 2021 was a clear reminder that nature is unpredictable and that despite the trajectory that is undoubtedly being shaped by climate change, the Douro still has the capacity to amaze and to shake us out of any sense of complacency. Encouragingly, it has also shown us that our region is not fated to invariably have years that are hot and dry. In 2021, we were reminded of how variable vintages can be in the Douro and how that gives us wines with interesting and diverse profiles.

Following a succession of very hot and dry years, with mainly smaller crops and low yields, 2021 turned out to be something of an interlude in this pattern, with one of the coolest growth cycles and harvests in recent memory. While large swathes of Europe experienced extreme heat (the month of July was the hottest ever recorded in the continent), the Douro Valley was enjoying an unusually cool summer with none of the heat waves that have become commonplace in the region. This worked to our advantage as the more moderate conditions encouraged slower, gradual maturations with balanced ripening across all varieties. Remarkably cool nights, particularly through the initial stages of the ripening period, but also during the harvest, were an added benefit contributing to excellent acidity and very good colour —

In contrast with 2020, the 2021 vintage in the Douro was slower paced and cooler, lasting for six weeks.

the two characteristics which most impressed the viticulture and winemaking teams in 2021.

A slow-paced vintage

The weather forecasts leading up to and during the vintage turned out to be less reliable than in previous years, often being quite misleading, constantly changing at short notice. This obliged us to be constantly alert and doubly agile in our decision-making, especially at the start of the vintage. Towards the end of August, conditions were forecasted to remain warm and dry, but from the first days of September the weather turned unsettled, and we had abundant rainfall on the

1st and 2nd . This was largely beneficial, and we slowed the pace of picking from the outset to allow the vines to make best use of the rain. Fortunately, clear skies soon returned, and we had good conditions for ripening to progress and to work through the picking schedules.

We started harvesting Sousão on the 30th of August, closely followed by Alicante Bouschet, two varieties that performed particularly well. Some of the Sousão wines made were quite stunning and the Alicante Bouschet is steadily coming into its own, now that many of our plantings are reaching maturity. We feel vindicated in our belief in these two varieties, which we have largely led the way in rehabilitating in the Douro over the last two decades.

On the 13th and through the 14th of September, unsettled conditions returned, and some further considerable rainfall was recorded, ranging from 20mm in our Cima Corgo quintas to just over 30mm in the Douro Superior

Despite the rain, the Touriga Nacional came in at a very good stage from approximately the harvest’s halfway point. We picked it at just the right time, starting on the 18th to allow a few days’ pause following the month’s second generous episode of rainfall. The wines made from this pivotal variety showed great promise, having plenty of colour and aromatically perhaps slightly more restrained than usual — quite positive for the ultimate balance and elegance of the wines. The graduations too, at between 13 and 14° Baumé, were ideal — again favouring balanced wines.

The rain and cooler temperatures imposed a slower pace throughout the harvest, and it was easier to manage than others in the sense that we didn’t have the desperately hot vintage weather that imposes quicker picking schedules, often straining our vineyard and winery teams to the limit. In the Cima Corgo, we had almost double the monthly rainfall average (Bomfim and Malvedos) and almost three times more than average in the Douro Superior (Canais, Vesúvio). It was indeed a long-drawnout vintage, lasting over six weeks, contrastingly sharply with last year’s short vintage, which lasted barely a month.

The weather conditions during the vintage were not always ideal, but fortunately the spells of rain were limited to short periods of 24-36 hours and any adverse consequences were in fact far less than the sheer volume of rainfall would have suggested.

Overlapping Tourigas

Just before the vintage, our predictions pointed to the possibility of a noticeable overlap in the picking of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, whereas normally all the Nacional is picked before starting on the Franca. This year, it was likely that Touriga Franca (a late ripening variety) would ripen earlier because although the growing season was cooler, the cycle began early (budbreak was three weeks earlier than average). Furthermore, due to the absence of heatwaves there were no interruptions in the ripening process.

Our predictions were borne out and we did indeed start picking in some properties Touriga Franca at the same time as Touriga Nacional. This proved to be perhaps one of the best decisions we made this vintage because by advancing the harvesting of some of our finest vineyard parcels of this variety, we ensured it reached the wineries in very fine condition —prior to the month’s third spell of rain. Some of the Francas that were left to be picked during the tail end of the vintage were impacted by the wet conditions.

(Above and left) At Quinta da Fonte Souto, 2021 was a year of elegance, with the acidity and aromatic exuberance that one would expect from a cool year.

(Far left) Bernardo Nápoles, winemaker at Quinta dos Malvedos, poses with his team next to the winery entrance during the 2021 vintage.

(Below) A ‘roga’, team of pickers, in one of the old, stone terraced vineyard plots at Quinta do Retiro during the 2021 harvest.

We made some very fine wines — both ports and Douro DOCs, and if we had to single out the stars of the vintage, they would be Touriga Nacional, which was superb across the board and Sousão, from which some stunning lots have been made. The Touriga Franca that we harvested in good time was also very fine, with excellent acidity and very good colour, even though the graduations were a little lower than in previous years.

Although yields (Kg/vine), across our quintas, were 10% below the 11-year average, our total production was 24% above last year’s, which was quite a small vintage.

Men and machines

The increasing difficulty in finding enough people to harvest the grapes continued and once more it was clear that the Douro’s demographic reflects a rapidly ageing population. As in previous years, we were unable to muster enough people for the vintage in each one of our properties, but fortunately this was mitigated by the slower pace of the harvest, which relieved the pressure on the picking teams.

Our Symington-Hoffmann mechanical harvesters performed better than ever before. Now in their sixth year of use (most of which in a developmental phase), we feel both machines and their operators really hit their stride during this harvest, with teething problems largely overcome. The cooler conditions no doubt positively influenced the machines’ reliability and productivity.

Our robust Covid-19 containment measures (including regular testing) worked as effectively as in 2020. The fact that all our staff were fully vaccinated obviously made a difference. Unfortunately, the right conditions were not yet fully in place to return to foot treading in the granite lagares at Quinta do Vesúvio. We hope to return to normal in the 2022 vintage.

(Right) The rain that arrived during mid-September (up to 30mm in the Douro Superior) slowed the pace of the vintage, here at Quinta dos Canais.

(Opposite page) A picker at work on the Stone Terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos.

ALENTEJO

The harvest at our Quinta da Fonte Souto in Portalegre was even longer than in the Douro, starting on August 17th and ending on October 8th. First to be picked was the Verdelho, closely followed by Aragonez, the first cut of the latter specifically for our newly launched Rosé wine. The Arinto was harvested from the end of August, in several batches in order to produce (white) wines with differing profiles, albeit from the same base material. During the first half of September, we picked a second batch of Aragonez (this time for our red wines) and started picking Alfrocheiro.

A cool July created the right conditions for excellent levels of acidity in the white grapes, which came into the winery with fresh, expressive aromatics. During the middle of August, a considerable rise in temperatures provoked a rapid advance in maturations and despite a cool July, we thought this would bring the vintage forward, but that wasn’t the case. Lower temperatures and rain returned at the end of the month, slowing maturations, and prompting us to pause the vintage, which only picked up again from September 16th — for the remaining reds: Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Trincadeira.

This was a year of elegance, with the acidity and aromatic exuberance that one would expect from a cool year, complementing very fine texture and superb balance.

Average temperature and precipitation % departure from normal at Pinhão (Quinta do Bomfim), 1980 - 2021)

Monthly rainfall compared to the average. Quinta do Bomfim weather station: 2020 and 2021 viticultural years.

2019 - 2020 rainfall (mm)

2020 - 2021 rainfall (mm) Rainfall, 30-year average (mm)

Average monthly temperatures compared to the 30-year average (Quinta do Bomfim weather station).

2019 - 2020 monthly averages (°C)

2020 - 2021 monthly averages (°C)

30-year monthly averages (°C)

Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos: the north-facing stone terraces.

WINE AS A FORCE FOR GOOD

Family wine producers can play a leading response to the 21st century’s sustainability challenges

Rob Symington

After a decade working and building a business in London, I was offered the chance to return to Portugal and join my family wine company, Symington Family Estates. For many people, this would be an irresistible opportunity, but I had a concern — and it was big one. Did the organisation understand the environmental challenges we’re facing? And were they motivated to respond? I feared joining the port trade could be like stepping back in time, to an era where grappling with complex issues such as sustainability was not on the business agenda.

At Symington, there are aspects of what we do that are traditional (and rightly so – port isn’t made in a factory and many of our production processes from vineyard to cellar would be recognisable to my great grandfather). However, when I moved back to Porto, I was relieved. The team had its eyes open to the massive challenge of climate change; they were proactively engaging in social issues in our region. They understood that our health as a business is inseparable from the health of the surrounding environment and the communities who live and work there.

A wine producer’s comfort zone is talking about the beauty of their vineyards, the specificity of their terroir, and the quality of their wines. Until recently, most discussions about sustainability were seen as PR exercises, communicating safe and predictable messages like “we look after our land” or “we work closely with the local community”. Wine has benefited from being seen as a natural product with a light environmental footprint and has generally avoided the critical spotlight aimed at other sectors. As a result, family wine companies are not used to speaking out on social or environmental issues beyond ensuring that they respect all the appropriate laws and say the right things.

However, in many ways wine companies, especially familyowned ones, are perfectly placed to play a leading role on sustainability. As farmers, we are completely beholden to the caprices of the gods of rain and temperature for our product. Whether we like it or not, we are on the front line of the fight against climate change. The strong community aspect to grapegrowing in many wine regions means the wine trade can demonstrate what truly responsible business practices look like today. And our business mindset is generational: yes, we need to run viable businesses, but family wineries tend to be motivated by long-term economic sustainability, not short-term profits.

‘Fortunately, in recent years we have seen a rapid shift in public awareness of the climate crisis, greater consumer demand for sustainable and ethical products and a corresponding response from businesses.’

Climate change – wineries on the front line

Like any farmers, it has been impossible for wine producers to ignore the climatic changes of recent decades. Given the importance of terroir and the extreme sensitivity of grape vines to climatic conditions, the wine trade is highly susceptible to disruption caused by the climate crisis. We are a canary in the coal-mine for the global farming community.

We are also fortunate to produce a product that people have strong connections to. Wine is emotional – it represents culture and history and geography – and the best wines tell fantastic stories about specific places. This gives us a platform to speak out about climate change – what we are doing to adapt, as well as the leadership we are showing to reduce our own emissions. This is not treating sustainability as a PR exercise – this is about responding decisively to an existential threat.

The Douro valley (where my family farms the region’s largest area of ‘grade A’ classified vineyard) is a region of extremes –

characterised by cold winters and hot, dry summers. These conditions create a perfect microclimate for producing fortified port wines as well as beautifully well-structured red wines. The mountainous terrain has also enabled a new generation of winemakers to produce an array of elegant white wines from higher altitude sites. However, this delicately balanced terroir is being disrupted by climate change – with the warning signs increasing in recent years and a sense that the coming decade is going to see an acceleration of the challenges we face on this front.

In 2012 our Viticulture R&D Manager, Fernando Alves, coauthored a paper with Professor Gregory Jones (from Southern Oregon University) titled ‘Impact of climate change on wine production: a global overview and regional assessment in the Douro Valley of Portugal’. Using data from weather stations in Vila Real, Régua and Pinhão they showed that between 1967 and 2010, the Douro Valley recorded a 1.3°C increase in average temperature, while the average rise throughout the vegetative

(Above and right) Our Grape Variety Libraries at Quinta do Bomfim, Quinta do Ataíde and Quinta da Tapadinha are proving invaluable in helping to identify which varieties are the most resistant to drought and heat.

cycle, from bud burst to picking, registered an uptick of 1.7°C. Between these dates, on average 16 more days per year have experienced heatwave temperatures higher than 35°C.

In the decade since this paper was published, we have seen an acceleration of these trends. July 2020 was the hottest July on record in the Douro valley, +3.5°C above the average July temperature for the region. During 2020 we experienced heatwaves in June, August, and September which registered multi-day spikes above the 30-year average maximum temperatures for each month. According to Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), the period from January to midSeptember 2020 was the warmest on record. We are currently facing a severe winter drought in Portugal, with over 90% of the country experiencing ‘high’ or ‘very high’ drought conditions.

The grapevine is an extremely resilient plant and can survive a wide range of different conditions. Plus, our indigenous Portuguese grape varieties are well-adapted to dry and warm conditions. But there is a difference between conditions that the plant can survive, and those that are well-suited to producing the high-quality grapes required to make fine wines. During the heatwaves in recent years, we have seen that our vines shut down in the most challenging conditions, sacrificing the fruit to protect themselves. This means that photosynthesis stops, and that grape maturation is delayed or progresses in an uneven manner, causing quality issues.

'The grapevine is an extremely resilient plant and can survive a wide range of different conditions. Plus, our indigenous Portuguese grape varieties are well-adapted to dry and warm conditions. But there is a difference between conditions that the plant can survive, and those that are well-suited to producing the high-quality grapes required to make fine wines.'

Adapting to the new normal

At Symington we have been researching the impact of climate change in our vineyards for many years. In 2014 we planted the first of three grape variety libraries to study the capacity of ancestral varieties to produce high-quality grapes under hot and dry conditions. Many of these varieties (with colourful names such as Cornifesto, Bastardo, and Malvasia Preta) fell out of favour with Portuguese grape farmers due to their low yields compared with other varieties. But we believe that some of the 50-odd strains we are studying may hold great potential for producing high-quality wines and ports in a future dominated by climate change. We will be sharing our latest findings at the International Terroir congress and ClimWine symposium in Bordeaux in July 2022.

We are also partners in an EU-wide consortium that developed an autonomous vineyard monitoring robot, VineScout, which permits us to gather real-time data on climatic conditions in the vineyard on a metre-by-metre basis. This provides an x-ray vision of the impact of climate change on very specific vineyard parcels – and helps guide interventions like drip irrigation or the selection of future vineyard sites. In a similar vein, we have been participating in another EU project called VISCA, producing a long-range climate forecasting software for viticulturalists to understand the likely impact of climatic changes in their vineyards 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

Reducing our contribution to the problem

For many years the wine trade had its head in the sand when it came to speaking about climate change. I think this was due to lack of understanding about the severity of the threat combined with a lack of confidence in speaking publicly on how and why wineries could reduce their own emissions. In addition, it is understandable that small and medium-sized wineries (which make up the greatest number of wine producers) might feel that although the climate crisis was deeply concerning, it was not their job to speak out on the matter or to take responsibility for their carbon footprints.

Fortunately, in recent years we have seen a rapid shift in public awareness of the climate crisis, greater consumer demand for

‘John Simpson, a muchrespected veteran BBC journalist asked, ‘when the Corona crisis is over, we’ll remember there’s something infinitely worse & more destructive hanging over us: the threat to our planet. If we can lock down for a disease, can we not work together to do what’s necessary to save ourselves from the coming disaster?’ It is the right question.’

sustainable and ethical products and a corresponding response from businesses. More strong voices have emerged in the wine trade – from experienced figures such as Miguel Torres senior (Familia Torres) to younger leaders like Katie Jackson (Jackson Family Wines). In 2019, Jackson and Torres founded a membership organisation called International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) which is leading the wine trade’s response to the climate crisis with a rigorous framework of measurable CO2 reduction goals linked to the UN’s sciencebased emissions targets.

My family was one of the first wineries to join IWCA in 2020 and the membership has now grown to include wineries from all around the world, including Spottswoode (California), VSPT Group (Chile), and Yealands (New Zealand). New applicant members include Champagne Lanson (France), Famille Perrin (France), Ridge Vineyards (California), Sula Vineyards (India) and Yalumba (Australia).

During the past three harvests we have been trialling a machine that captures the CO2 produced from wine fermentation tanks, with a view to transforming it into calcium carbonate to be used as a pH soil corrective in our vineyards. This is just one of many

measures we are taking to reduce our carbon footprint – from a widespread bottle light-weighting programme to reforestation and rewilding initiatives on natural land that we own in the Douro and Alto Alentejo.

There is still resistance in the wine trade about companies taking responsibility for their carbon footprints. This is true despite the fact that this has been widely-established as part of sustainability best practice for the world’s leading private and public companies for many years. A CEO of a well-known wine company recently told me that no board of directors would sign-off on carbon emissions reductions targets if they didn’t know whether they could meet them. In fact, wineries that have signed up to science-based carbon footprint targets are doing so because it demonstrates the leadership required to bring positive pressure to bear throughout the wine supply chain – from bottle manufacturers to transportation providers – and is increasingly a prerequisite for a credible sustainability strategy.

From the paradigm of seeing sustainability as a PR exercise, there are sadly still a lot of people in wine who want to talk the talk but aren’t prepared to walk the walk. At Symington we are far from perfect. We still have a lot to do to reduce our environmental footprint and increase the positive environmental and social impacts of our business activity. We need to invest effort in changing mindsets and invest money in new technologies. But importantly, we have committed to bringing sustainability to the core of our activity. In contrast to seeing it as a corporate communications exercise we now see it as a fundamental strategic driver. It’s a catalyst for future-proofing our company and ensuring we are resilient in the face of the coming challenges.

(Above) Quinta da Cavadinha is home to some of our oldest vineyard plots with century-old vines, but it is also where we have been conducting important studies (since 1997) in the experimental vineyard there — namely, the evaluation of the best rootstock - grape variety combinations.

(Below) The east-facing stone terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos. These prized vineyards also include west-facing and north-facing plots. The Douro’s extraordinarily varied terroirs are a distinct bonus in adapting to climate change pressures.

The evolution of a company in the 21st century

As awareness of our overlapping environmental challenges has increased, a wider public conversation has emerged: what is the role of business in the face of big systemic threats? Does the capitalist model require reform? This is not idealism or extremism; it is widely accepted that the 20th century model of progress is now in need of urgent upgrading to avoid devastating environmental impacts within the lifetime of people alive today.

The Financial Times editor, Lionel Barber, recently wrote that “the liberal capitalist model has delivered peace, prosperity and technological progress for the past 50 years, dramatically reducing poverty and raising living standards throughout the world. But, in the decade since the global financial crisis, the model has come under strain, particularly the focus on maximising profits and shareholder value. These principles of good business are necessary but not sufficient. It’s time for a reset.”

John Simpson, a much-respected veteran BBC journalist asked, “when the Corona crisis is over, we’ll remember there’s something infinitely worse & more destructive hanging over us: the threat to our planet. If we can lock down for a disease, can we not work together to do what’s necessary to save ourselves from the coming disaster?” It is the right question.

We are committed to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the regions in which we work and operate. Our Impact Fund provides grant financing to local charities and other organisations such as the Douro volunteer fire brigade services to whom we have been donating (on an anual basis), ambulances and fire-fighting equipment.

A commitment to people and planet

In my opinion, the best catalyst for a company making the shift from seeing sustainability as marketing to treating it as a driver of transformation is to sign up to external frameworks that oblige it to align with certain standards and goals, and to be regularly audited on progress against them. Public commitments are an effective way of an organisation holding its feet to the fire.

In 2018, shortly after joining my family business, I was asked to organise our Senior Manager’s away day around the theme of sustainability. My previous company (Escape the City) had been one of the UK’s first certified B Corporations. B Corp is the world’s most comprehensive business sustainability certification covering governance, ethics, environment, team, community,

and supply chain. I invited Luís Amado, the B Corp manager for Portugal, to address our team and explain the rationale of the framework and the urgent need for more businesses to sign up to these kinds of standards.

At that point I had no expectations that the company leadership would agree to such a rigorous commitment. I was pleasantly surprised when our CEO, Rupert Symington, turned to me at the end of the day and said, “this is exactly the kind of framework we should be subscribing to”. I’m proud that we were the first wine company in Portugal to become a certified B Corporation (in July 2019), joining a global movement of companies committed to meeting the highest

standards of verified social and environmental performance and responsible, ethical business practices.

B Corp isn’t just a nice sustainability certification: it involves changing the legal statutes of your company to oblige company directors to put social and environmental considerations on the same level as financial ones. The B Corp model is designed as a roadmap, with re-certification every three years, to oblige companies to embark on a programme of continuous improvement.

Of course, there is a reputational benefit from being a B Corp (you will see the “B” logo on the back labels of all of our bottles of

wine and port) but there is also a reputational risk – no one wants to lose their B Corp status. By becoming one, you are subscribing to far more stringent standards of business behaviour than the laws that govern normal businesses. The stakes are higher.

Becoming a B Corp was a natural step for a family wine company that already had strong environmental and social values. But it has also changed our self-identity in subtle but important ways. You will regularly hear colleagues at Symington say “well, as a B Corp I think the right way for us to proceed is…”. We aren’t presenting ourselves as a paragon of virtue, nor do we think that we alone can solve the myriad social and environmental challenges that we face, but taking this step has ensured that we

are bringing rigour, structure and accountability to an area that has been fraught with opacity, confusion and big claims that are often not backed up with action.

The activist company

As I mentioned earlier, it is uncomfortable for a company to speak out on social and environmental matters. We can’t all be as bold as Patagonia, Innocent Smoothies, or Ben & Jerry’s. Business leaders understandably tend to shy away from any communications that are political or tendentious.

However, the world has changed dramatically in recent years. Public awareness (and public concern) regarding the environmental crisis is very high. Whether we like it or not, people buying our products want to know whether we are a responsible company with a strong sustainability plan. Two thirds of consumers say they choose brands because of their stand on social issues (according to Alain Jope, Unilever CEO) and 66% of people are prepared to pay more for sustainable brands (from a Nielsen study of 30,000 consumers in 60 countries). This pressure is coming to us, as wine producers,

all the way through the chain – from end consumers via retailers, importers and wine journalists. I welcome it because it can act as a force for positive change within the wine trade.

At Symington we recently launched an Impact Fund which provides grant financing to social and environmental causes in our region. We did this because we feel it is right to give back to the communities where we operate, but we also believe that it is in our own interests for our region to be financially, socially, and environmentally viable. This isn’t about looking good (we have done little communication around this initiative), it is about investing in the future of our region.

Partners in our Impact Fund include the volunteer fire brigade services of the Douro who provide an essential lifeline to local communities, providing ambulance services, and fighting forest fires (15 ambulances donated to-date). We are long-term funders of Rewilding Portugal, a not-for-profit working on an ambitious environmental conservation programme on a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor in the Greater Côa Valley. We recently launched a Rewilding Edition wine with sales contributing direct financial support to the conservation efforts in our region.

(Left, opposite page and above) Our collaboration work with Rewilding Portugal includes volunteering days where Symington staff can participate in activities such as refuse collection on land where they are creating their rewilding corridor in north-eastern Portugal.

(Below) Our environmental initiatives extend to our property in the Alentejo, Quinta da Fonte Souto, where we have set in motion an ambitious plan to extend the property’s already substantial forested area.

‘We are long-term funders of Rewilding Portugal, a not-for-profit working on an ambitious environmental conservation programme on a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor in the Greater Côa Valley. We recently launched a Rewilding Edition wine with sales contributing direct financial support to the conservation efforts in our region.’

We have also been vocal in calling for reform of the out-dated regulatory system that controls grape production in the Douro. This is a complex issue which is having a negative impact on the prices that farmers receive for the grapes they sell for still wine production (as opposed to the higher prices they can secure for their port wine grapes). It would certainly be more comfortable for us to keep quiet – and in fact the current system benefits us in some unintended ways – but if the 21,000 grape growers in our region don’t have a sustainable economic future, nor do we.

Purposeful work in the 21st century

In the past, people who spoke out about environmental and social issues in a business context might have been dismissed as hippies or dreamers. Today, sustainability is mainstream. The urgent environmental challenges we face are globally understood and it is widely accepted that the task that has fallen to today’s generations is one of taking responsibility for fixing many of the unintended but devastating impacts of modern economic activity.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity or complexity of the task, or to keep quiet for fear of being seen as worthy or to avoid being criticised. I’m 38 years old with two young daughters.

I expect to be working well into the 2050s. The global scientific consensus is that we face severe levels of climate disruption by this point unless global emissions drop dramatically over the coming years. If we fail to do this, the very viability of the wineproducing region that I love is in question.

I am fortunate to be part of the fifth generation of Symingtons to produce port and wine in the north of Portugal and I want my daughters to have the opportunity of being part of the sixth. Amidst all the difficulties of trying to transform a wine company’s operations to operate in line with the best practices of environmental stewardship and decarbonisation, this is the thought that guides me.

Treating sustainability as a nice-to-have aspect of our activity as a winery is no longer an option, we have an obligation to safeguard what we have for future generations. It really is that simple. I am confident that we are in the middle of a cultural and systemic shift which is going to accelerate over the coming years. If wineries around the world continue rolling up their sleeves, as many are doing, and adopting truly ambitious sustainability strategies, I believe that we will collectively be able to look back and say with pride that the wine trade truly was a force for good.

(Right) Three fifth generation members, Rob, Charlotte and Vicky enjoy a glass of port at Quinta dos Malvedos.

(Opposite page) Three generations of Symingtons at Quinta do Bomfim, winter 2022. Charles, left, and Rob, right, listen as Peter shares some of his wealth of knowledge on Douro viticulture.

Quinta da Fonte Souto, Portalegre (Alto Alentejo).

REFORESTATION AT QUINTA DA FONTE SOUTO

February 2021

Almost exactly half of our property in the Alentejo, Quinta da Fonte Souto (102 hectares) is forested area, the main trees planted being cork oak and cluster pine, followed by chestnut and eucalyptus.

During February 2021, we replanted an area approaching six hectares, on a sloping area of the property, with 700 chestnut trees, which replaced the previously planted cluster pines that had been cut down by the previous owners.

We chose to augment the area covered with chestnut groves at Quinta da Fonte Souto, both for the chestnuts they provide (for which there is growing worldwide demand) as well as for their resistance to fire (as a broad-leaved species) and their contribution to greater biodiversity.

This reforestation initiative is part of our drive for decarbonisation and is also one of our ten ‘MISSION 2025’ sustainability goals, namely biodiversity support.

Of Quinta da Fonte Souto’s total area of 204 hectares, 102 are forested land, 45 are under vine and the remainder is a mix of cherry orchards, olive groves, etc.

STEVE ROGERSON

A friend and colleague remembered

May 2021

The passing of our colleague and friend, Steve Rogerson left all of us at Symington with a profound sense of loss and great sadness. Steve had been with us for almost 20 years and during that time his proven research and development work in specific areas of winemaking and viticulture had brought tangible results, translating into practical applications. Steve’s incredible scientific knowledge, curious and lively intellect and professionalism made him an extremely valuable member of our R&D team and his premature departure has left an enormous void.

Some of Steve’s most visible projects included: the use of aerial Infra-red/UV vineyard 2D-Mapping as a precision viticulture tool, aiding zonal characterisation (and therefore improved vineyard management); Indigenous Yeast Study into how indigenous non-saccharomyces yeast strains isolated from spontaneous wine fermentations can influence the aroma profile of port, specifically looking at the Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca grape varieties; Wine Brandies Study, involving the development of a new analytical method for upgrading the control of the selection of grape spirit (used in port’s fortification) with the ultimate objective of improving wine quality further.

Steve was also an important harvest team player in the Douro, prior to and during each vintage. In the weeks leading up to harvest time, Steve coordinated comprehensive maturation studies in his lab at Quinta do Sol, which gave head winemaker Charles Symington detailed analysis of the stages of maturation of different grape varieties. Optimal picking dates for each individual variety could consequently be determined with accuracy — tapping each one’s full qualitative potential. nonse esequi que ne pero id unt, voluptae sam et et quiatur repuda dolenda nobis molupta et, sentissit, cus sitibus et, test porundiatet andeste estet exerovi destibe rcienis debis min exerum eaquam quo te volorei

REWILDING PORTUGAL

1st Symington Volunteering Day

November 2021

One of the three focus areas of our long-term collaboration with Rewilding Portugal is giving Symington employees the opportunity to get involved with volunteering work with the organisation. Our first such volunteering initiative took place in November 2021 when a team of 22 employees, principally drawn from the commercial department, spent one day at Rewilding Portugal’s Quinta de Santa Margarida, near Vilar Formoso, close to the Spanish Border.

This very remote 300-hectare property, acquired for Rewilding Portugal in September 2021, was for many years an opencast mining area, whose activity had ceased 15 years prior to the acquisition. The mining operation involved widespread excavations throughout the property over many years, which created numerous artificial lakes. As the mining activity ceased, the abandoned area was gradually returned to nature and became a stopping off point for migratory birds attracted by the abundant watering points, far from any built-up area.

Rewilding Portugal’s vision is to turn the property into an oasis of biodiversity in this isolated area on the western extremity of the Iberian Meseta. Quinta de Santa Margarida had remained largely neglected since the previous owners ceased operations and much of the refuse and abandoned material associated with the mine’s infrastructure was never cleared. Our volunteering day was dedicated to helping Rewilding Portugal gather and clear as much of the refuse as possible from the property. It was quite extraordinary just how much abandoned material and general rubbish our team managed to collect in just one day. Follow-up volunteering days with further Symington teams drawn from several areas of the company continued this important work during 2022.

We are currently working closely with Rewilding Portugal with a view to including the extensive wooded areas of Quinta do Vale de Malhadas and Quinta do Vesúvio in the Côa Valley rewilding corridor. In a future edition of 1882 , we hope to bring you news of further developments in this regard.

Above) The Symington team, gathered behind all the refuse that they collected during the volunteering day at Rewilding Portugal’s Quinta de Santa Margarida.

(Left, opposite page) A joint Symington and Rewilding Portugal team visited Quinta do Vale de Malhadas and Quinta do Vesúvio to assess their suitability for inclusion in the Greater Côa Valley wildlife corridor.

TOM SYMINGTON 5th generation team member

November 2021

I have been working since the autumn of 2019 at John E. Fells, Symington Family Estates’ UK subsidiary and importer/ distributor. A year later, I worked the harvest in the Douro where I was involved with extensive trial work on our new mechanical harvester at Quinta do Vesúvio.

Raised amongst the vineyards, wineries, and port lodges, my interest in the family business was natural. Working many of my school and university summers in the harvest, I grew to know and love the fast-paced, exciting world of winemaking in the Douro.

In 2016, I was fortunate enough to win a scholarship place on a Master of Science in Enology and Viticulture at Montpellier SupAgro in France, after I finished my Biology BSc studies at the University of Exeter in England. This programme opened many doors for me and since then I have made wine in LanguedocRoussillon, Alentejo, Barossa, Tasmania, Mornington Peninsula, Marlborough, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Sussex. This gave me an invaluable insight into many styles of winemaking, sustainable technologies, and farming techniques, as well as creating strong friendships around the world.

It is a pleasure to have returned to London where I first gained experience in the wine trade at Berry Bros. & Rudd and Hedonism Wines. At Fells, I am currently responsible for the marketing of my family’s wines in the UK, and I feel privileged to be closely involved with the exceptional wines crafted by my father’s, grandfather’s and even my great-grandfather’s generations. It is something that feels quite unique and incredibly special.

Outside of work I take a keen interest in ecology and biosystems. You can often find me on the banks of the Douro looking for otters, river terrapins, wild foxes, wild boar, as well as the wide diversity of bird life with an old pair of my grandfather’s binoculars. I enjoy all types of water sports and love to finish the long harvest days with a refreshing dip in the Douro’s waters.

Tom, photographed in the Dow’s Lodge during the summer of 2022.

WE’RE ON TELEVISION! Through 2021, Symington was featured on BBC World, Channel 4 (UK) and ‘Imagens de Marca’ (Portugal)

Through 2021, we received a lot of attention from several TV channels, from the UK and Portugal. During July 2021, we hosted in the Douro, at Bomfim and Ataíde, a TV film crew from the BBC to prepare one of their ‘Follow the Food’ documentaries (Season Three) which was aired on their worldwide network, BBC World, in the first quarter of 2022. Johnny and Vicky recorded an interview at Bomfim, in which they talked about the family’s roots in the Douro Valley and how they are preparing for future challenges with the help of technological advances in viticulture. Pedro Leal da Costa and Fernando Alves then demonstrated the workings of the vineyard monitoring robot, VineScout, in our grape variety library at Quinta do Ataíde.

A couple of months later, during the vintage, Harry hosted Matt Tebbutt, well-known British chef and popular presenter of Channel Four’s ‘Food Unwrapped’, which has a wide viewership in the UK. This series presents itself thus: ‘Food Unwrapped Travels the world to explore the industry secrets behind our favourite food.’

Harry first received Matt at Graham’s 1890 Lodge and then at Quinta dos Malvedos, where he explained port’s origin, how it’s made and the various styles in a light-hearted, informal manner to appeal to viewers. The episode in which we featured was aired in early December 2021 during the evening prime time slot at 8pm.

Also, during the 2021 vintage, Frederico Mourão and Marta Mendes hosted ‘Imagens de Marca’, a show which profiles companies, brands, consumer trends, etc., on the Portuguese channel, SIC Notícias. The presenter, Fernando Paula talked to Frederico about our growing investments in wine tourism and to Marta about our ambitious sustainability initiatives.

Above) Vicky and John Symington hosted the BBC Follow the Food presenter, James Wong, at Quinta do Bomfim to record the program.

(Right) Marta Mendes hosted the Imagens de Marca presenter, Fernanda de Paula, at Quinta do Bomfim.

(Left, below) Harry welcomed Matt Tebbutt at Quinta dos Malvedos to record a program for the popular UK TV show: ‘Food Unwrapped.’

JORGE NUNES

1st

Portuguese to win the prestigious Vintner’s Cup

April 2022

WSET - Wine and Spirit Education Trust - is the world’s largest wine school with over 100,000 students in 70 countries of which 23% are in China, 22% in the USA, 20% in Europe, 17% in the UK and 18% in all other areas.

The highest WSET level - and one of the world’s most respected wine qualifications - is the Diploma.

Each year, the student with the highest aggregate mark worldwide - across all six units of the WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits - is awarded The Vintners Cup. The winner of The Vintners Cup of 2021 was our colleague Jorge André Pais Vaz Nunes, an achievement that was all the more noteworthy because he became the first Portuguese ever to win this coveted award.

Jorge was born in Vila Nova de Gaia in northern Portugal in 1982 and studied Oenology at UTAD (Vila Real University, Douro) and joined Symington Family Estates in 2007 as wine maker combined with wine tourism. Shortly afterwards Jorge joined the commercial team and in 2012 he moved to Hong Kong and assumed responsibility for the promotion and sale of all Symington family ports and Portuguese wines in the Asia and Pacific region, where he has achieved impressive growth. He is now based in Singapore where he carries on this valuable work for our company.

‘I was surprised but very proud to receive The Vintners Cup of 2021 and to be the first Portuguese to have won since the award was created in 1946. I feel this has a special significance for my country, my region and my family.’ (Jorge Nunes).

SÃO JOÃO BARCO RABELO REGATTA

Following a two-year gap, due to covid restrictions, we were able to resume our participation in the annual Barco Rabelo regatta, held on the feast of Saint John (São João), Porto’s patron saint. As the thirteen rabelos lined up along the starting line, very close to the bar of the Douro, weather conditions were unsettled, but we had sufficient wind from the right direction to get off to a good start. As the boats jockeyed for the best positions, there wasn’t much between them until the Fonseca boat made a break from the pack and started to gain what seemed like an unassailable lead. However, shortly after sailing under the Arrábida Bridge, the wind became very erratic, constantly changing direction and causing mayhem among the fleet, with some boats careering into each other amid strong and colourful vocal protestations. At one point, the wind did a 180 degree turn and sent all the boats sailing backwards… Not long after, the wind died altogether and as the fleet of rabelos was left aimlessly drifting, the regatta judges rightly decided to cancel the race. Hopefully we’ll get more favourable winds in 2023!

The Cockburn’s barco rabelo, ‘Quinta dos Canais’, with its striking red sail photographed from the Graham’s barco: Quinta dos Malvedos, close to the regatta’s starting line where the wind initially seemed favourable…

LUÍS MARTINS Farewell to a valued colleague and friend

June 2022

On June 27th, we said our farewell to Luís Martins during the surprise retirement party that we organised for him on the beautiful grass lawn in front of our offices in Vila Nova de Gaia. We celebrated his remarkable 43-year career in the port trade, which he started with Cockburn’s in 1979 and then continued at Symington Family Estates when our family acquired Cockburn’s in 2006.

In his speech to mark the occasion, Johnny Symington enumerated many of the qualities that made Luís such a valued director and colleague, but he singled out one particular aspect, reminding all those gathered what a considerable step it had been for SFE to integrate Cockburn’s, but even more so what a leap into the unknown that this had meant for all those then working at Cockburn’s.

Luís was exceptional in the way he helped to ease the process of integration, not only from the business perspective, but more importantly from the human angle. He was tireless in providing guidance and reassurance to Cockburn’s staff as they adjusted to a new reality. He helped them find their place in Symington and to channel their experience, competence, and capabilities into

(Above and below) Luís during his surprise farewell party held on the beautiful lawn at the company’s head office in Vila Nova de Gaia.

their new work environment. The success of this process was reflected in the fact that before long there was a sense of unity, with no distinction being made between those who had already been at Symington and those coming from Cockburn’s.

More recently, Luís headed the covid-19 task force which did a magnificent job in helping to navigate our company through one of the most challenging periods of its history. We are immensely grateful to Luís for having managed this so professionally and successfully.

In his farewell, Luís remarked what a privilege it had been to work in two companies that have been and continue to be references in their field, exceptional in their business culture, their strategic vision and leadership in many areas, and in the emphasis placed on the well-being of staff. ‘I have great pride in this’, he concluded.

We wish Luís a very happy retirement; may it be as rewarding and fulfilling for him as the great contribution he made to port and to our company.

(Below) With the beautiful Porto skyline as backdrop, Symington staff mingle during Luís’s retirement party. Before drinking to his good health and a happy retirement.

2ND CLIMWINE SYMPOSIUM, BORDEAUX

SFE R&D viticulture

July 2022

ClimWine, organized for the first time in 2016, is an offshoot of the International Terroir Congress, which has brought together scientists from all over the world every two years in Bordeaux since 1996 to present and share studies on viticultural terroirs. ClimWine was set up to focus on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. Symington Family Estates was one of a very few non-academic entities invited to this prestigious and influential symposium, where Fernando Alves and Joana Valente presented papers based on the various studies we have been conducting since the establishment of our first experimental/ research vineyard at Cavadinha in 1997.

Fernando’s paper concerned the combinations between four different rootstocks and five different grape varieties grafted on to them and their interaction with climatic indices over a twenty-year period of study (2001 – 2020). The influence of climate and choice of rootstock on fruit quality (of the different grape varieties studied) demonstrated the importance of the selection of plant material — particularly the choice of rootstock — as a driver for adaptation strategies in the context of climate change. In this regard, one of the most important aspects observed was tolerance to drought.

Joana presented the study undertaken since 2017 at our two principal grape variety libraries (Ataíde and Bomfim) the results of which point to significant differences between grape varieties, as observed over the various phases of the vines’ vegetative cycle and the berries’ maturation rates. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of which grape varieties are best suited to specific terroirs, across the Douro Valley in the scenario of climate change, which we are undoubtedly experiencing and which we must prepare for.

Joana Valente and Fernando Alves both took the podium to deliver papers on the significant R&D work geared towards climate change adaptation strategies.

DEVELOPMENTS IN WINE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

Casa dos Ecos pop-up restaurant : In the early summer of 2020 the 1st lockdown rules resulting from the coronavirus pandemic were just beginning to be gradually relaxed and people were yearning to get out of the confinement of their homes. It was against this backdrop that we approached the talented Michelinstarred chef, Pedro Lemos, with a proposal to open a pop-up restaurant in the midst of our vineyards at Quinta do Bomfim in an old wine lodge which the family had always referred to as ‘Casa dos Ecos’. Remarkably, in less than a month the Casa dos Ecos restaurant was up and running and soon making a name for itself among the locals but also among patrons from Porto and other parts of Portugal. The restaurant’s combination of traditional Douro dishes, based on locally sourced produce and ingredients, prepared using traditional techniques (including wood-fired cooking) served in a relaxed, informal setting with spectacular views over the vineyards became a hit. Casa dos Ecos was closed over the winter of 2020/21 and reopened during the spring of 2021 and again in 2022.

The Quinta do Vesúvio Experience: : In May 2021, we opened Quinta do Vesúvio to visitors for the first time, albeit in very small groups (minimum of two and maximum of six people) and with the requirement to book in advance. On arrival at the quinta, visitors are welcomed in the gardens where light refreshments are served. A guided tour of the vineyard follows, complemented by a visit to the magnificent winery, one of the last places in the Douro where the time-honoured tradition of foot treading is maintained. This is followed by a tasting in the wine cellar beneath the house where a selection of the quinta’s famed Vintage Ports are sampled alongside Vesúvio’s very fine Douro DOC wines. After the tasting, an aperitif is served prior to lunch on the magnificent verandah between the house and chapel, which commands beautiful views over the Douro River and the opposite bank.

2020, 2021, 2022

Pedro Lemos and his team, photographed during the inauguration of the Casa dos Ecos pop-up restaurant at Quinta do Bomfim (July 2020).

Quinta da Fonte Souto Visitor Centre: We inaugurated a visitor centre at our Alto Alentejo property in September 2021, offering guided tours of the vineyard, winery, barrel cellar, as well as tutored wine tastings. The property’s wines can also be enjoyed in the welcoming lounge and bar area, served with a selection of cheeses and other locally sourced products. Visitors can also purchase the quinta’s wide selection of red and white wines. Vineyard walks and cycling within the property’s grounds are also a part of the visitor experience. This is the first stage of a wine tourism offering at Quinta da Fonte Souto and we hope to share further developments in this area with readers in a future edition of this magazine.

Cockburn’s Lodge Visitor Centre reopened: Following a long, two-year closure (due to covid), we were delighted to reopen the Cockburn’s lodge to visitors during March 2022. Our team of guides were excited to witness the return of considerable numbers of visitors, as tourism numbers picked up again swiftly to pre-pandemic figures. Picnics in the courtyard continue to be very popular and a large open-air section of the lodge has hosted well attended events, most popular of which was a São João dinner followed by a party with a live band, which sold out rapidly and saw revelers enjoying themselves into the early hours.

The shop and bar at the Quinta da Fonte Souto visitor centre, inaugurated in September 2021.

Graham’s 1890 Lodge and Vinum Terrace Extension: In June 2022, we revealed the extension to the terrace which had already been serving the Graham’s Lodge and Vinum restaurant in its initial form, and inaugurated the open-air lounge area, served by a bar specifically for Vinum. It is an excellent spot to unwind with family and friends whilst enjoying one of the best views of Porto. The refurbished terrace and new lounge/bar area have given an extra dimension to the visiting experiences both for the visitors of the Graham’s Lodge and patrons of Vinum restaurant.

Bomfim 1896 with Pedro Lemos — restaurant inauguration: In 2022, we decided to take our very successful collaboration with Pedro Lemos to the next level by opening a new top-of-theline restaurant at Quinta do Bomfim: ‘Bomfim 1896 with Pedro Lemos’. The restaurant opened on June 10th (Portugal’s National Day), just in time for the busy summer season, which saw a surge in the numbers of visitors to Portugal, keen to travel and to put covid behind them. Where Casa dos Ecos was more about informality and down to earth, wholesome regional dishes, Bomfim 1896 with Pedro Lemos has raised the bar to the level of fine dining with world-class service and an impressive wine list. Traditional Douro Cuisine and wood-fired cooking continue to feature, although at a more refined and cosmopolitan level. We will publish a fuller account on this restaurant in a future edition of the magazine.

(Above) The extension to the Vinum restaurant terrace and outdoor lounge area.

(Below) The new Bomfim 1896 with Pedro Lemos restaurant, with its inviting interior with a mix of traditional and contemporary decoration and stunning views over the Douro River.

NEW RELEASES

ALTANO REWILDING EDITION

Launched in early 2021 as part of our collaboration with Rewilding Portugal, Altano Rewilding red wine was launched in two formats: a conventional bottle and a cylindrical bag-in-tube. Part of the proceeds from the sales of this wine is channelled to Rewilding Portugal to support the not-for-profit organisation’s ambitious project in the Greater Côa Valley.

‘The Altano Rewilding is a brilliant wine — very good value and with a great purpose in addition to drinking pleasure.’

Julia Harding MW (JancisRobinson.com), July 2022

TAILS OF THE UNEXPECTED

A place where formal port rituals are replaced by a cacophony of ideas and creativity, new serves and drinking moments.

A new generation at Cockburn’s challenged our winemakers to produce a range of experimental ports – using the highest-grade lots usually reserved for our best wines. Ports that are fresh, lively, and can stand on their own two feet regardless of how you drink them: mixed or neat. Port without limitations.

Balloons referencing Porto’s biggest street party – São João – and a surfer from the city’s beaches.

Luís de Camões – considered to be Portugal’s greatest poet.

Legendary Cockburn’s winemaker, John Smithes, eyeing up The Tawny & Ginger cocktail in the cockerel’s hand.

A burlesque dancer as a nod to late nights in London’s SOHO and the iconic Port & Lemon drink once popular with its revellers.

One of Porto’s iconic trams with ’INVICTA’ – the city’s nickname meaning ‘invincible’ – graffitied on the side.

Lemon and mint illustrations nodding to White Height’s signature cocktail.

A cuckoo clock to reference the passage of time and evolution of port serves & occasions.

A glass of tawny and a cocktail measuring cup to show that Tawny Eyes can be enjoyed neat or mixed.

A recipe book referencing the original blend that inspired Ruby Soho.

An exploding cannon as a metaphor for the wine’s burst of ripe fruit flavours.

GRAHAM’S 1952 PLATINUM JUBILEE PORT

In 2012 we had the privilege of bottling a special limited edition of Graham’s 1952 Single Harvest Tawny to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (marking 60 years of Her Majesty’s accession to the throne on 6th February 1952).

Ten years later, we proudly released another bottling of the same 1952 (which continues to age magnificently in cask) to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This was our small contribution to pay tribute to the remarkable reign of Queen Elizabeth II — the UK’s longest reigning monarch (February 1952 until passing on September 8th, 2022).

One of the official portraits of the Queen, taken in July 1952, the year of Her Majesty’s accession to the throne.

COMBOIO DO VESÚVIO DOURO DOC

In September 2021 we extended the range of still wines from our magnificent Quinta do Vesúvio estate with a new red: Comboio do Vesúvio (Vesúvio train) — inspired by the long coexistence of our largest property with the Douro railway which reached there in 1887. To this day, Vesúvio has its own station.

Comboio do Vesúvio complements the top of the range Quinta do Vesúvio Douro DOC and the second wine, Pombal do Vesúvio, and unlike these it is unoaked, made for drinking young and informally with everyday dishes.

GRAHAM’S BLEND Nº12 RUBY PORT

The Blend Nº12 Ruby Port release follows the successful launch of Blend Nº5 White Port in 2019 and marks an extension of the Graham’s Port “Blend Series”, designed to challenge assumptions about how port is typically consumed and attract a new audience of port drinkers, particularly in the bar scene, prepared as a straight serve or mixed as a long serve.

Blend Nº12 takes its name from the fact that the grapes from which it is made are drawn from high-altitude vineyards and hand-picked in the middle of the night to ensure maximum freshness. These grapes are then cold fermented to preserve their primary aromas and intensity. Unlike most ruby-style ports, Blend Nº12 is not aged in oak and is bottled young to maximise concentration and flavour.

A BRACE OF ROSÉ WINES

During the summer of 2021, we launched our first ever Rosé wine, and it wasn’t from the Douro but from our Alentejo property: Quinta da Fonte Souto. The debut vintage, 2020, was a great success and rapidly sold out. It is 100% Aragonez (known as Tinta Roriz in the Douro), which is ideal for the wine’s fresh, elegant red fruit aromas and flavours.

Roughly a year after launching our debut rosé wine, we released another — this time from the Douro, the Altano Organic Rosé from the 2021 vintage. This is our fourth still wine made from 100% organically farmed grapes.

GRAHAM’S SIX GRAPES RELAUNCH

The iconic Six Grapes, one of Graham’s most cherished ports. We asked our in-house designer, Alexandra Sousa Ribeiro, to work her magic in refining the wine’s presentation whilst preserving the unmistakable grape bunch motif, which makes this such an immediately recognisable port classic.

QUINTA DA FONTE SOUTO ALFROCHEIRO

Our first in what we plan to be a series of single-varietal releases from Quinta da Fonte Souto, which will only be launched in years when a specific grape variety has been particularly successful, as was the case with Alfrocheiro in 2019.

The wine’s great character and unique identity were endorsed not long after the launch when it was awarded ‘Best Varietal Red Wine 2022’ in the Concurso Vinhos de Portugal, Portugal’s leading wine competition (May 2022). This edition attracted a record number of entries (1,450 wines) and the 109-strong judging panel awarded 291 silver medals, 106 gold medals and — from the latter group — 36 Grande Ouro (‘Great Gold’) medals. In turn, from this elite group, they made a final selection of the 8 best in class wines (different categories), the Quinta da Fonte Souto 2019 Alfrocheiro being one of them.

COCKBURN’S PORTONIC

Always known for its progressive, pioneering spirit, Cockburn’s was one of the first to launch a ready-to-drink white port and tonic, conveniently packaged in a single serve recyclable can.

‘Cockburn’s has a history of doing things differently, from winemaking to famous TV adverts, and we’re excited to be launching our first White Port & Tonic in a can. It’s been great to see a new generation of port drinkers engaging with white port over the last few years and mixing it into cocktails as an aperitif. We believe the Cockburn’s White Port & Tonic can will build on this interest and open up new port drinking moments.’

Rob Symington, 5th generation port producer, Symington Family Estates

GRAHAM’S SINGLE HARVEST TAWNIES

Launched as Graham’s Cellar Master’s Trilogy, initially comprising the 1940 (The Master), the 1963 (The Artisan) and the 1994 (The Apprentice), these limited run Single Harvest Tawnies were gradually replaced over the last year, respectively, with the 1950, 1974 and 1997.

1994 VINTAGE PORT RE-RELEASE

From October 2021, we rereleased limited quantities of the Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s 1994 Vintage Ports from our own stocks, entirely matured in our own cellars. The 1994 is widely considered to be one of the finest Vintages of the second half of the 20th century and still has a long life ahead of it.

The labels clearly indicate: ‘Matured in our Cellars’ to confirm their impeccable provenance, a fact which many discerning Vintage Port lovers value greatly because it is a guarantee that the wines have been aged in the best possible conditions.

Before being re-released, each bottle was individually examined to ensure the wine was in perfect condition and then recorked with a new cork, guaranteeing the quality of every bottle before it left our cellars.

‘When I taste these Vintage Ports today, I’m reminded about that initial intensity of youth that gave us such confidence in the longevity of these wines. After 25 years ageing in bottle, these wines are now entering into an exciting period in their lives. While their deep, dark red colour indicate youthfulness, their silky, elegant flavours reveal their age and the maturity that comes from gradual ageing in bottle. I find these Vintage Ports are irresistible to drink now but still have quite a few decades to go.’

Charles Symington, October 2021

RECOGNITION AWARDS AND REVIEWS

QUINTA DO VESÚVIO 2018

DOURO DOC (97/100)

José Augusto Moreira, Público, December 2020

‘An imposing, intense and elegant Douro wine… this 2018 elevates Vesúvio to the ranks of Portugal’s greatest wines.’

QUINTA DO VESÚVIO 2019

DOURO DOC (96/100)

José Augusto Moreira, Público, December 2021

‘A wine that opens the gates of glory to Vesúvio’s Douro wines.’

QUINTA DO VESÚVIO 2019

DOURO DOC (18.5/20)

Nuno Oliveira Garcia, Grandes Escolhas, November 2021

‘Great aromatic complexity, beautiful red fruit and Vesúvio’s hallmark refinement. Impeccable barrel integration and noteworthy freshness, gorgeous texture, focused and taut on the finish — fantastic!’

CHRYSEIA 2018 DOURO DOC (19+/20)

Matthew Jukes 50 Finest Wines of 2021 November 2021

‘The first words I wrote in my tasting book were, ‘best Chryseia to date’. This is an incredible wine with so much character and accuracy it is impressive. I have visited this property and felt the aura emanating from these historic vineyards […] I feel that this famous wine label is finally showing its full potential, and it has joined the pantheon of truly great red wine styles of the world in the 2018 vintage.’

CHRYSEIA 2019 DOURO DOC (96/100)

Included in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2022

Alison Napjus · Wine Spectator · 2022

‘Racy and linear up front, this fleshes out on the palate, with silky tannins and a lovely range of black plum reduction, blackberry coulis, medicinal herb and iron flavors that show rich hints of licorice drop and espresso, before reining everything in again on the firm, focused and well-spiced finish.’

CHRYSEIA 2019 DOURO DOC (97/100)

José Augusto Moreira, Público October 2021

‘Elegant and powerful, this Chryseia is exemplary. Two decades after it was first produced, Chryseia is already one of the Douro’s contemporary iconic wines and possibly the one with the highest international recognition.’

CHRYSEIA 2019 DOURO DOC

Grandes Escolhas Magazine (Portugal, March 2022):

TOP 30 Wines - ‘Dream Wines’ of 2021.

Revista de Vinhos Magazine (Portugal, February 2022):

TOP 30 Wines of Excellence of 2021.

2022 WAS THE THIRD YEAR RUNNING THAT DRINKS INTERNATIONAL GRANTED THIS AWARD TO SYMINGTON.

‘This guide to the World’s Most Admired Wine Brands provides a fascinating insight into the collective opinions of the most influential wine industry experts from across the globew. We polled wine buyers, sommeliers, wholesalers, bar owners, Masters of Wine, writers, educators, and other specialists from every continent before arriving at this list.’

CASA DOS ECOS BEST OF WINE TOURISM AWARDS 2021

In its debut year, the Casa dos Ecos pop-up restaurant was awarded ‘Best of Wine Tourism Restaurant’ (Porto and Douro regions) in the annual Best of Wine Tourism competition.

PEDRO LEMOS BEST CHEF PRÉMIO NACIONAL DE TURISMO 2022

In the first edition of the Portuguese Wine Tourism Prizes — comprising 10 categories —, Pedro Lemos was awarded Best Chef in recognition of his work at the Casa dos Ecos pop-up restaurant at Quinta do Bomfim.

QUINTA DO BOMFIM WORLD’S BEST VINEYARDS 2021

Repeating the accolade received in 2019, the Quinta do Bomfim Visitor Centre received this award from the World’s ‘Best Vineyards Academy’ which distinguishes each year the world’s

50 top vineyards to visit.

WINE SPECTATOR

THE TOP 100 WINES OF 2022

Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines reviewed over the previous 12 months and select their Top 100. This annual list honours successful wineries, regions and vintages around the world. Through 2022, Wine Spectator editors blind-tasted and reviewed more than 8,800 wines. Nearly 60 percent of those rated 90 points or higher. From this pool, they selected the Top 100, evaluated for quality (based on score), value (based on price), availability (based on cases either made or imported into the United States) and, most importantly, the passion and story behind the wines, what they call the ‘X-factor’.

The Wine Spectator TOP 100 Wines of 2022 were announced just as this magazine was going to press, and this year two wines from Portugal made it into the TOP 100; both of them from the Douro and both of them made by our family: Quinta do

Vesúvio 2019 Vintage Port and Chyrseia 2019 Douro (made in partnership with the Prats family). Both wines scored 96 points in Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale. Wines scored 95 points or above, merit the description: ‘classic’.

EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR (Portugal)

In April 2021, at the annual EY Entrepreneur of The Year Awards, held in Lisbon, Rupert Symington was awarded, ‘International Entrepreneur of The Year’. The judging panel (drawn from leading companies, universities, and other business-related bodies) underlined: ‘The very significant contribution made by Rupert and the family company to “the increase in the perceived quality of Portuguese wines in international markets”, as well as recognizing the sustainable growth of the family business and Rupert’s own entrepreneurial skills.’

1882

FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Edition 2 · 2022

GRIT AND REWARD

PUBLISHER

Symington Family Estates

www.symington.com

Symington Family Estates, Vinhos, Lda

Travessa Barão de Forrester, 86

4400-034 Vila Nova de Gaia

Portugal

T. + 351 223 776 300

E. symington@symington.com

Insta. @SymingtonFamilyEstates

EDITORIAL

Editors

Rob Symington / Miguel Potes

Content

Rob Symington / Harry Symington/ Miguel Potes

DESIGN

Art Direction, Graphic Design and Layout

Alexandra Sousa Ribeiro / Carla Oliveira

GSA Design

Lettering (Cover)

Xesta Studio

PRINTING

Pre-Press Consulting

Forward Consulting

Printer Greca Artes Gráficas

Print Run 4000 - English

1500 - Portuguese

Depósito Legal

476162/20

Nº de registo ERC

127860

Paper Stock

Symbol Tatami White by Fedrigoni

Completely bio-degradable and recyclable

C015523

CONTRIBUTORS

Writers

Rupert Symington

Dominic Symington

Charles Symington

Rob Symington

Harry Symington

Euan Mackay

António Marquez Filipe

Luís Loureiro

Frederico Mourão

Diogo Melo e Castro

Miguel Potes

Nicole Santos

Photography

Adriano Ferreira Borges, António Chaves, António Luís Campos, Cláudio Capone, Callum McInerneyRiley, Emílio Biel, Filipe Braga, Francisco Soares, João Margalha, Miguel Potes, Pedro Nogueira, Sam Legg.

Revista de Vinhos

Photographs on page 26, reproduced by kind permission of Revista de Vinhos.

Cover photograph

Harvesters picking the grapes on the Stone Terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos. At the property, these drystone wall vineyard terraces have historically been called ‘Port Arthur’.

Back cover photograph

The façade of the house at Quinta do Vesúvio, seen from the tunnel that passes through the railway embankment.

November 2022

© Symington Family Estates

In February 2021, we replanted 700 chestnut trees on 6 hectares of land at our Quinta da Fonte Souto in the Alentejo. This initiative will offset the environmental impact of this magazine, both in terms of the paper and carbon emissions – and, in fact, along with other reforestation initiatives, will act as a positive mitigation against our overall carbon footprint as a company.