Symington Family Estates, the Oporto, Portugal based wine company renowned for its superb Vintage Port bottlings
Published on Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:34 am
Source: Crystal Higgins-Peterson, Calhoun & Company Communications
Symington Family Estates - A Family Business Since 1882
Symington Family Estates (SFE), the Oporto, Portugal based wine company renowned for its superb Vintage Port bottlings, is also the industry leader in the premium styles of wood-matured Ports such as Aged Tawny.1 The combined sales of the family’s Port companies make up 27% of all premium Port sold worldwide.
The Symington portfolio includes the historic Port shipping houses of W. & J. Graham, Dow, Warre, Smith Woodhouse, Quinta do Vesuvio, Gould Campbell and Quarles Harris. In addition to these Port companies, Symington Family Estates has been since 1989 the majority shareholder in the Madeira Wine Company, comprised of Blandy, Cossart Gordon, Leacock and Miles. More recently, in 1998, the family created two notable Douro table wine partnerships: Prats & Symington, a joint project with Bruno Prats of Bordeaux fame, now producing Chryseia and Post Scriptum; and Quinta de Roriz, with João van Zeller, to produce Reserva and Prazo de Roriz, and also a boutique Vintage Port. The family’s involvement with these historic Port companies began in 1905 when Andrew James Symington became a partner in Warre & Co. (Warre, established in 1670, was already the oldest Port shipper and was family owned.) His descendants went on to acquire additional family-owned Port houses including Dow and Graham, and to this day, the family is committed to preserving the traditions of each house. Management of the
company has been passed down through four generations and currently, seven Symingtons (six in the fourth generation) are involved in the business.
According to the Port Wine Institute figures for 2004, Symington Family Estates are leaders in sales of Vintage, LBV, Aged Tawny and Crusted Ports.
Symington Family Estates is committed to upholding its reputation as one of the top producers in the Douro. To ensure that the highest quality wine is produced on a consistent basis, the company is continually reinvesting in its vineyards, vinification equipment and maturing stocks of wine. The Symington family leads the Port industry in terms of investments over the last five years -- since 2000, its combined major capital projects have amounted to over 36 million Euros.2 From the vineyards to the winemaking, aging and blending processes, a member of the family is directly responsible for every bottle of wine produced.
The Symingtons are amongst the largest holders of Port vineyards in the Douro, with over 3000 acres (half of which are under vine) across 19 separate quintas. Some of these properties are privately owned by members of the family and some by partnerships, although all are under direct Symington supervision. Individual family members own and manage many of the properties, which further underscores the family’s commitment to investment in the vineyards and the Douro valley. Peter Symington and his son Charles are personally responsible for all wine tasting and blending.
The Symingtons oversee production at seven wineries including two major properties, Bomfim and Sol, and five small specialist estate producers, Vesuvio, Graham’s Malvedos, Dow’s Senhora de Ribeira, Warre’s Cavadinha and Roriz. The company has a long reputation for pioneering winemaking in the Douro. In 1964, Symington Family Estates was the first major producer to introduce auto-vinification at its Bomfim winery. In 1990, they developed a special cooling system for the traditional stone lagares at Quinta do Vesuvio, and in 1996 opened Quinta do Sol, one of the most advanced winemaking facilities in the Douro. More recently, in 1998, the family designed and introduced its revolutionary robotic lagar. A treading technology developed to mimic the human foot, the robotic lagar allows maximum color extraction by �walking’ the length of a stainless steel lagar with four temperature controlled �feet’ (complete with silicone �toes’) that exert an optimal amount of pressure on the fermenting must. In developing new technologies that allow for greater winemaking control and consistency, Symington Family Estates continues to be at the forefront of the wine industry, both in terms of top quality and innovation.
The Symington Family Estates belongs to the invitation-only organization, Primum Familiae Vini (PFV), a grouping of eleven of the world’s leading wine families. Fellow PFV members are Antinori, Drouhin, Egon Muller Scharzhof, Hugel, Jaboulet, Mouton Rothschild, Pol Roger, Sassicaia,Torres, and Vega Sicilia.
The increasing awareness and appreciation for Port, Madeira and Douro table wine in North America are due in large part to the Symington family. In 1985, the Symingtons established Premium Port Wines, Inc., the only specialized importer and marketer of these three categories in the United States. For more information on the company and its brands, please visit http://www.symington.com, http://www.premiumport.com, http://www.pfv.org and
http://www.thevintageportsite.com.
