Considered months ago, this year's weeklong Guest Corner Host will appear here during the mid-section of the 4th quarter, just a few weeks after the conclusion of the harvest.
One of the most renowned names in the Port trade, this individual is encyclopedic in his diverse knowledge of the history of Port, the Douro region, and everything from the growing of grapes, to the making of Port and Douro wine as well as everything involved in bringing the bottles and cases to the markets around the globe. We are in for a rich and rewarding week and I hope all of you will participate.
The formal announcement disclosing the identity of our grand guest will appear in the upcoming newsletter.
FTLOP is proud to have Dominic Symington join us for an entire week November 9th – 15th 2014 shortly after harvest has concluded. Dominic likely needs no introduction to most Port and Douro wine lovers, but suffice it to say, he is one of the most erudite and charismatic men in the entire Port trade. Additionally, he loves to share his vast knowledge; is a brilliant raconteur and will be answering questions directly from you, on a daily basis. So please save the dates and come join in the fun!
Thanks for joining us, Dominic. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to your thoughts on all manner of Douro related topics this week!
So to start us off with a question, now that harvest has finished up, what are your thoughts on the 2014 vintage? Are there any years previous where we can draw some parallels and perhaps get an idea of what the wines will taste like down the road?
Dom,
Many thanks for taking the time out of your very busy schedule this coming week to answer our questions.
My questions are related to the Graham's en-premier program recently launched. How has the initial reaction been to it, from the consumer side and even more importantly the touchy issues related to others in the Port trade, importers, distributors, and retailers? Also, why is it only being offered in the UK and are there plans to also do it in other countries in the near future? (BTW, I think it's a wonderful idea for those looking to get an anniversary Port or keep their verticals of Graham's and Malvedos going).
Would you agree that Port seems to be going through a bit of a renaissance right now? Would this have happened anyway without the 2011 vintage being as good as it was? How long can interest be sustained without a general declaration?
On a personal note, I've been really pleased that we in Australia now have easy access to much of the Cockburn's range, and more recently Graham's range. Please keep them coming (and send some 20 year old tawny as well). It wasn't easy to find for many years!
Thanks for taking the time off your busy schedule to communicate with us.
My first question, there will be more soon I'm sure :)
You recently changed the blend for the Graham's Tawny selection. Do you have plans to or are you currently revisiting the blends for the other brands of your company?
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
Hi Dominic, thank you for joining us. It was a pleasure seeing you again at Quinta dos Malvedos during the Harvest Tour last month; as always you were a superb host.
If you were given the ability to change (or expand) the IVDP regulations for one category of Port in some way, what would you change and why?
My question is entitled: "Pink Port in the rear-view mirror"
This new category was introduced a few years ago and was not without controversy. Those in the trade who decided to go down the pink route put forward the view that it was a drink that would attract new consumers, particularly the younger generation, who would then go on to enjoy the more traditional categories and therefore increase the consumer base.
It has not gone unnoticed that SFE have chosen not to follow this trend. Could you please explain why and also give us any insights you have into how the Pink category has been received by the trade and consumers and whether or not it has resulted in a widening of the consumer base?
Hi Dominic!
Thanks for joining us this week.
It was a pleasure for Emmy and me to be together with you twice within a week last month. First at Malvedos as part of the 2014 FTLOP Harvest Tour and then at the Grand 1994-tasting in Odense, Denmark. I have two questions for you:
No. 1:
The last half year we have seen an increase in Graham’s tawnies/colheitas appearing in the tax free shops here in my country. 30 yrs and 40 yrs tawnies and 1969 Single harvest/colheita. How do you see the developments of your port production/sales in the a 5-10 year range related to the split between the ruby style (incl LBV and vintage) and the tawny/colheita-style? Will the volumes of the latter have a bigger portion than before?
No. 2:
The Symington family has been active in the Douro-wine segment for nearly 15 years with labels like Chryseia, Post Scriptum, Altano, Vesuvio, Pombal etc. Will the Douro wines continue to take a bigger share of your total production/sales, or are you stabilizing the situation at the present level?
Good find Julian! I doubt I'll ever been in the market for new large format VP's, but it's cool to see this trend proliferate. I have more than enough aged mags+ get through first. Cry me a river.
Bradley, the 2014 has many simalarities to the 2007 in that we had a realitvely cool (for the Douro) summer. In this way we had very delicate & mature tannins & beautiful balance. The wines made in the early part of the vintage are exceptional. The rain really did spoil what could have been an outstanding year. It is however too early to give a detailed idea of the overall quality, but without a doubt a number of very good wines were made, particularly in the Douro Superior. But the rain has certainly taken the shine off what good have been something quite special.
Andy, the Port Bond has been extremely well received although it is still early days. For the moment we're only doing it in UK but will certainly expand into other markets.
Paul, thanks for your comments on Aus!
Yes of course the 2011 vintage, as we often see after a successful decalartion, has an influence on the global market. We were however already experiencing a steady growth in what the Trade calls Premium Qualities, LBV, Reserve Ruby and Aged Tawny's up. While the overall market is slipping in total volume the premium end is slowly growing. There is still ahuge amount of work to be done!
Hi Fred, this is something that, as far as I understand, every shipping is doing all the time. Periodically they may look a bit deeper and tweek their blends, this is what we did.
Hello Derek ...
As you well know, I'm in favour of anything that may bring people to Port, be it Rosé/Pink, White or Vintage et al, assuming that they enjoy it and will eventually try other styles and hopefully find some others that they also enjoy whichever it may be.
The launch of Rosé was very creative and as you mention caused quiet a lot of discussion in the early stages. After the initial introdcution the overall market has been reasonably stable however there are signs that it is slowly exapnding into other markets outside the traditional western European countries.
Hi Glen,
I'm not sure if it's a question of any new categories of Port, we already have quite a few which the consumer finds quite confusing.
It's important to have some form of control and structure but this can also sometimes stifle creativity and inovation.
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