PORT NEWS: You can say you heard it here first

[Roy Hersh]

TAYLORS buys OSBORNE for 7 million Euros.
> 5 million for the wines in stock.
> 2 million for the facilities in V.N.Gaia.
TOTAL: 7 Million euros.

In 2001 Taylors had already bought Croft and Delaforce for 31 Million Euros with an additional investment of 37 millions in several areas of production and vinification.

[Frederick Blais]

WOW! another major move. Are they aquiring only the Osbourne's Portugal activities or Spain as well?

Is Port production is going to look like the Australien wine industries, 2 companies owning owning almost everything... Symington and Taylor are coming really big!

[ryan opaz]

Roy how do you feel about all of this consolidation? It seems that soon all the major houses will belong to a few big companies. Starting to sound like the US media!

Do you think this will stifle innovation or destroy traditon? Or could this help reinvigorate languid properties?

[Derek T.]

At the end of the day this all comes down to viability of the companies. In any industry, companies with strong finances and a bright future do not tend to be bought out.

The very fact that the big boys are buying out these old houses suggests that their future was very uncertain and the only other likely outcome would be that they would go under and these historic names would be lost forever. What amazes me about the port industry is that mergers and acquisitions tend not to cause the individual houses within the group to lose their identity. For example, I visited Croft earlier this year and I think I heard the word Taylors only once. In almost any other industry the whole set-up would be required to have the same corporate image, brand and style and most if not all of the history and individuality would be lost.

It would be interesting to know how it is that the port industry has managed to retain these very separate identities within the large groups. Are the owners responsible for this due, in most cases, to it being their own personal family heritage, or does the market force them to retain and preserve the history so that the whole can survive?

[Tom Archer]

Either Taylors want a sous marque or this is the end of Osborne as a port brand.

Looking at the numbers, the latter seems more likely

[Paul_B]

Hi,
Osborne is one of the nicer facilities to visit in VN Gaia but I never really liked their ports, ordinary at best. Oh and a world reconized logo (the bull),... marketing value, especially in Spain where the government declared it officially part of Spain's heritage in 1997, not for the port ofcourse but for the spanish products.

Did Osborne still own Duff Gordon brand?

cheers
paba

[Jesus Barquin]

Did Osborne still own Duff Gordon brand?

AFAIK, yes.

[Jason Brandt Lewis]

Did Osborne still own Duff Gordon brand?

AFAIK, yes.

Agrred. AFAIK.

[Al B.]

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing for the Port industry. On one hand there is definitely a consolidation going on with many of the historic names being bought up by the larger companies.

On the other hand, a lot of the growers who used to supply grapes to the same major houses are now keeping the grapes for themselves and vinifying their own wines. Look at all the new single quinta wines that are starting to come our of Portugal following on from Symington's successful Vesuvio business model.

Life could be very interesting for Port lovers over the next 40 years.

Makes me very determined to live until I am 103. I'm not going to waste all the wine I've bought.

Alex

[Tom Archer]

103?

With all the advances in medical tech, I've set my sights on 128 - and to buy my last en primeur on my 100th birthday in 2060!

[Mario Ferreira]

Either Taylors want a sous marque or this is the end of Osborne as a port brand.
Looking at the numbers, the latter seems more likely

I heard from an unofficial source that in the future Osborne Ports will keep their presence in the market anyway. If so, I would say that decision makes sense to me in a commercial point of view for Osborne Ports have their own market share that should be kept alive. [Oh well, maybe this is just my academic marketing background's speech ]

Osborne is one of the nicer facilities to visit in VN Gaia ....

I must confess I share the very same opinion with this quote. Thks.

[Roy Hersh]

I must confess that I have never visited the Osborne facility. Mario, maybe we need to change that.

[Tom Archer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Osborne take over the old Noval premises?

I seem to recall that Noval moved out following a severe fire about 20 years ago.

[Mario Ferreira]

I must confess that I have never visited the Osborne facility. Mario, maybe we need to change that.

Let's do it next time you're in Portugal my friend :) ......

didn't Osborne take over the old Noval premises?

That's Correct. Those Osborne facilities in V.N.Gaia used to be Noval's.
At one point Noval decided focus all its storage capacity in the Douro Valley and sold their facilities in Gaia.
However, nowadays Noval still has/owns its small wine store in V.N.Gaia, which is located right in the front line between Cálem and Sandeman.

[Roy Hersh]

Noval was one of the very first companies to take advantage of the IVP regulation change of 1986. The new law allowed producers and Shippers to sell, market and ship Port directly from the Douro. Until then, all Port had to be shipped from the Entreposto in Vila Nova de Gaia/Oporto. Noval moved their bottling, blending and shipping operation up to their property above Pinhao.