The Symingtons

[N Bizall]

So I've been trying a few ports lately. And I have come to notice that quite a few brands are owned by the Symingtons family. (Dows, Warres Warrior, cockburns.) Is there any noticeable between the brands? Do all the grapes come from the same estate?

[Paul Fountain]

The Symingtons do own a lot of brands, which they have acquired over the years - the most recent being Cockburn's just a few years ago. They are all quite different styles that have a particular house style (ie Dow is a little drier, Grahams a little sweeter, Warres more feminine). For the higher end ports, like Vintage, Colheita and tawny with an indication of age, each brand has a main estate that it is associated with and in most cases, other estates where a smaller amount of fruit comes from. Each Brand also has it's own vinification facilities and a winemaker that works specifically with that brand.
Most members of the family have their own properties as well which contribute grapes across the portfolio.
I know there is a larger vinification facility which, is probably shared across brands for the lower end wines like basic ruby and tawny. Someone here will know a little more about that than me.

[Moses Botbol]

All of their brands have famous quintas behind them that distinguish the port from which they are made. Not only that, they are made slightly different depending on "house style".

[Andy Velebil]

Well not all brands have their own Quinta but most do. Gould Campbell and Quarles Harris for example don't have any specific Quinta


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[Roy Hersh]

While we all casually (including me) toss around the word "brand" it should be noted that these are really Port companies or "shippers" as they once were exclusively called. As was well explained above, most have quintas associated with these shippers now under the control of the Symingtons. Last I looked they owned 26 quintas in the Douro, more than any other Port company. The house style varies dramatically between them, often being the difference of when the fortifying spirit is added to stop the fermentations ... but other differences exist as well. Some are vinified without being de-stemmed while others use partial de-stemming as just one other example.

Great question!