The Symington-family history


	Family - Philosophy - Winemaking - Wines - Addresses & Links Heritage The Symington Family The Symington Family of Oporto and the Douro are descended from Andrew James Symington and Beatrice Atkinson who were married in Oporto in 1891. Beatrice Atkinson was a direct descendent of 17th century Port producer Walter Maynard, English Consul in Oporto in 1659 as well as one of the very first Port merchants. He is recorded in the official archives in the city of Oporto as shipping 39 Pipes of Port in 1652. A unique record in the history of Port. The Symingtons can thus trace their ancestors as Port producers back thirteen generations through their great grandmother Beatrice Atkinson. In 1905 AJS became a partner in Warre & Co (the oldest British Port firm, established in 1670) and within a few years he was its sole owner. There followed an arrangement with the Warre family who at that time was the owner of Dow's. The result was that AJS became a partner in Dow's as well as Warre's and was responsible for running all the Portuguese-based operations of the two companies. His three sons: Maurice (born 1895) and the twins John and Ronald (born 1900) joined their father and ran the business between the two wars guiding it through the tricky times following the 1929 slump and during the 1939 - 1945 war. The firms survived and in 1947 Maurice was joined by his elder son Michael and the following year Ian, eldest son of John. A few years later Ronald's elder son James joined the firm followed at intervals by Peter and Amyas. In 1961 the Warre family sold their remaining shareholding to the Symingtons and in 1970 W & J Graham & Co, together with its sister firm Smith Woodhouse & Co., was acquired from the Graham family. The very prominent position held in the Vintage Port trade by the Symington Port firms led to a decision to substantially increase vineyard holdings in the finest areas of the Douro. This policy resulted in the acquisition of Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha in the Pinhão valley and of the considerable expansion of Dow's Quinta do Bomfim and Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos. In 1989 the Symingtons took a huge leap in vineyard ownership when they acquired the magnificent Quinta do Vesuvio. This 408 hectare (1000+ acres) estate is probably the most famous and historic quinta in the Douro and is widely regarded as the finest. In 1989 the Blandy family, who have resided on the Island of Madeira since 1811, approached the Symingtons and offered a partnership in their Madeira wine producing business - The Madeira Wine Company. The Symingtons were able to bring to Madeira their oenological and marketing skills bringing about significant changes in Madeira and hopefully laying down the foundations for a revival of the international popularity of Madeira wine. Apart from Blandy's the other well-known brands owned are Cossart Gordon, and Leacock. 1997 saw the opening of a new £2 million state of the art winery at Quinta do Sol. This substantial investment was then followed by the first stainless steel fully automated lagar ever to be produced, confirming once again the Symington family's commitment to innovation. More recently, the family were able to re-purchased one of the key Douro Quintas, Quinta do Senhora da Ribeira. This property was originally owned by Silva & Cosens during the first part of the century and has continued to form an important component of Dow's Vintage Port. Today no less than seven Symingtons (six from the 13th generation in the Port trade) work in the business. From the vineyards through the winemaking, ageing and blending, a member of the family is directly responsible for every bottle of Port they produce. Members of the family are personally involved in all wine making and tasting. The family's commitment to their wines is stronger than ever after 350 years, an unparalleled tradition in the Port trade. Besides the Quintas owned by the family Port companies, the Symingtons are individually significant owners of vineyards in the Douro valley. Each member of the family has vineyards that he or she owns and manages. The grapes are supplied to the family Port companies. This extent of private family vineyard ownership is unique to the Symingtons in the Port trade. In none other of the principal Port companies do the partners or owners own vineyards directly as in the case of the Symington family. This reflects the family's centuries-long dedication to the Douro and to its wines. Symington Family Estates and individual members of the family own 16 Quintas in the Douro valley, amounting to the largest vineyard ownership in the Douro. They are joint owners of a superb 17th vineyard, the famous Quinta de Roriz, and are also joint owners of Quinta de Perdiz with Bruno Prats, one of the finest estates in the Rio Torto valley. In addition, the family has a 25-year lease on the outstanding Quinta das Lages in the Rio Torto. These 19 properties comprise the finest collection of top vineyards in the Douro valley and ensure the supreme quality of all the Ports for which the family is renowned. The total area of all the Quintas amounts to 1,263 hectares of which 609 hectares are planted with vines. The Symington family manages seven different wineries in the Douro throughout the 4 to 5 week harvest, each with its dedicated winemaking team in attendance 24 hrs per day. There are two major wineries, Bomfim and Sol and five small specialist estate wineries: Vesuvio, Graham's Malvedos, Dow's Senhora de Ribeira, Warre's Cavadinha and Quinta de Roriz (jointly owned with João van Zeller). The investment in equipment and management at each of these five small specialist wineries is significant and costly but it is vital to maintain the highest quality and the individuality of the Family's wines. The Symington family have produced some of the greatest Vintage Ports ever seen: The Graham's 1970, 1983 and 1985 and the brilliant 2000. The Dow's 1912, 1924, 1927, 1934, 1945, 1955, 1963, 1966, 1970 and the excellent 1980. The Warre's 1900, 1908, 1912, 1924, 1927, 1934, 1945, 1963 and the elegant 2000. The Smith Woodhouse 1977 has frequently been judged as the best wine of this very good year. The Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Ports are a legend in the making. All these wines, and more, are landmarks in the history of Port. To a great extent these individual Vintage Ports were of such quality that they have helped, in no small measure, to create the very image and standing of Vintage Port around the world. The Symingtons look forward with great confidence to their continuing prominent role in the worldwide development of the image of the magnificent wines of the Douro and of Madeira. Family - Philosophy - Winemaking - Wines - Addresses & Links Heritage