FTLOP is proud to present: ADRIAN BRIDGE

1. Please share some information about your life and how you wound up working in the Port trade, and at what age?

Other than trying Port at home with my family I guess my Port journey started when I was sent off to Boarding School at the age of 11. My great friend at school was David Sandeman. His father lived in West Sussex, not too far from my own home, and I was a frequent visitor during school holidays. Inevitably, this provided plenty of opportunity to learn more.

However, my real introduction was when David and I travelled to the London Offices of Sandeman at Vintage House on the south side of the river Thames. We were due to have lunch with his brother who worked in the business. Either we were early, or David’s brother was delayed by business so as two 13 year olds we were told to wait in the tasting room. What an invitation! Of course, being young, we mistook ‘tasting room’ for ‘drinking room’ and a happy half an hour was spent. This was London in the mid-1970s when the ‘lunch’ that followed was just a pint or two of warm ale – not the perfect mix with Port. The two of us became, in the words of a good rugby friend of mine, ‘over refreshed’.

It was in 1982 that I met my wife, Natasha, in London at a party and travelled with her to Portugal to meet her family – Alistair and Gilly Roberston of Taylor’s and Fonseca Ports.
Although we had met through a mutual friend it was not someone involved in Port or Portugal.

My first harvest was 1982, and I have been to every harvest ever since. We married on 9th September 1989 – a month that saw three daughters of Port families marry; as though no one had anything else to do in the harvest month.

At that time, I had just completed 6 years in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, a British Cavalry Regiment and had started a career in Investment Banking. However, not long afterwards my father-in-law persuaded me to come to Portugal and join the family business. We arrived in early 1994 with our three-month-old son, Kit.

 

2. What is your favorite style or category of Port to drink at home, and can you mention some of the most memorable Ports you have ever consumed, and why?

Port at home is always tricky as there never seems to be the right one in the house for the mood. We have lots of Vintage Port in the cellar and we will always serve this to friends, visitors or on any day of the week with a ‘y’ in it. But my drinking does tend to be more seasonal. The winters in Porto are cold enough to be rewarded with a fine Late Bottled Vintage and the summers hot enough to enjoy a chilled tawny. Our fridge always has a bottle of 20 year old tawny in it – but then most well-dressed fridges do.

The greatest Ports are always difficult because one tends to think immediately of legendry years. I recall in 1998 at The Factory House, having a Ferreira 1847 which had been brought along by a group that I was entertaining. We had it at the start of the meal so that the delicacy and beauty would not be altered by the food. It had rich graceful strawberry notes, refined soft spirit and a wonderful sense of vitality. I have since encountered this in several 1868 Quinta de Vargellas Vintages that I have had – I was lucky enough to buy a case from a collector here in Portugal. It too was made by Dona Antonio Ferreira as she was, at that time, making the wines of much of the vineyard.

It is sometimes the moment and place that makes more impact than the wine. I have always taken Port with me on all of my mountaineering expeditions. In 2015 I was on Everest with a group. Our aim was to set the world record for the highest black tie dinner party. We were going to do this 7,400 meters up the north side. The expedition called for us to not only take up our dinner jackets but also the tables, chairs, plates, glasses, food and, of course, wines. The food had been prepared by 2 Str Michelin chef Sat Bains and I had provided a special blend of old tawny from 1953, the year that the mountain was conquered. We were driven off the mountain by the earthquake but not wishing to waste any of the food and wine we held our dinner party at base camp.

My other favourite is Taylor’s 1963 Vintage Port. It is the year I was born. I have been trying this Port every year for over 50 years now and sometimes I find that a bottle is more vibrant and packed with flavour than I feel; other years I feel that I am winning against the Port.

 

 

3. Besides Ports from your own company, what other producers do you most enjoy drinking?

One of the great advantages of being involved in The Factory House is that it is a perfect forum to taste many other shippers’ older vintages depending on what the Treasurer has selected for each lunch. We are always expected to guess what the Vintage Port is which requires greater concentration and thought, although I must admit that I rarely get it right.

We are also lucky to have so many Port companies as Partners in The Yeatman, which gives plenty of chances to sample a wide range at the Sunset wine parties, the Christmas Wine Experience and a number of Wine dinners.

But I do love Sake with my Sushi.

 

4. What brings you the most joy in what you do within the Port & Douro wine trade?

I feel privileged to work in this industry and to count Porto and the Douro as my home. I have a love of history, and our industry has very rich traditions and wonderful stories. We have been witnesses to the shaping of the entire Douro Valley to make the vineyards in which we grow our vines. As an industry leader I understand that the privilege comes with great responsibilities.

One aspect that is exciting is innovation as it plays to one of my strengths of coming up with ideas and then getting them done. Croft Pink was an entirely new category of Port that was launched in 2008 and is now made by many Port companies. The creation of ultra- premium Aged Tawny with Taylor’s Scion in 2010 provided the industry with an example of what could be achieved. Other Port projects have followed, including the RTD’s.

However, the creation of ProDouro in 2015 was arguably a force to move the Douro forward even if by necessity I had to stay in the background. The Porto Protocol launched in 2018 has been a force for sharing best practices and climate change solutions across the wine world.

Launching The Yeatman in 2010 – a project everyone thought crazy but then we need to remember that back then Porto was not a destination. World of Wine is a similar story that has already stimulated the development of the old historic Port lodge area in Porto.

These are all projects and initiatives that have made a difference to our business and our region, and they are ones I am proud to have created.

 

 

5. Would you please share one piece of unique trivia or historical information about your company that would be new to FTLOP readers?

Easy part: “Most happiness” There are a famous, and often quoted, set of letters by Thomas Woodmass. He wrote to his father from Viana on 27th December 1703 and reported arriving there on Christmas Day where Mr Job Bereslie, an English merchant, together with Mr Christopher Battersby, ye consul, did welcome us.

Job Bearsley was the founder of Taylor’s Port as it is now known (although Mr. Taylor was only in the company from 1814 until his death in 1835).

In Woodmass’s next letter of 23rd of January 1704, also from Viana, he gave an account of a journey he had taken with the two men to the northern wine growing regions of Monção and Melgação.

I have been in ye wine country at Monson with our good friends. Ye last crop was not so good as expected, but ye number of casks will not be smal. Ye price regulates 15 meel-reas per pipe of 144 gallons. At Mellgassy ye vines have not yielded well, but at Validars ye quality is excellent. At Monson we al dined at Mr. Bereslie’s and he did show some wine such as I had not yet sipped.

Now, 300 years later the company once again has a presence in Monção and Melgaço (Monson y Mellgassy !!) with our Alvarinhos from Quinta da Pedra.

 

6. Which individual has been your greatest mentor and how have they inspired you?

In the Port business I have been inspired by my Father-in-Law; Alistair Robertson. He has always had a strong understanding of marketing and what is possible with Port. He is rightly well loved by everyone in the Trade as a ‘Gentleman’ in all senses of that word. Although he retired from any operational responsibilities over 20 years ago he has always been involved and has been an invaluable sounding board for me.

 

 

7. What is the greatest challenge facing the Port trade today? What about the Douro wine trade?

Honesty.

Honesty on the challenges that are in front of us and honesty on the solutions that are really possible.

 

 

8. Can you share one new project or improvement that your company is currently involved with?

The Bearsley. Having mentioned Job Bearsley already, whose name has not been part of Porto for well over 200 years because his great grandchildren were all in the female line of succession. We will be building a new luxury hotel on the river front in Gaia starting in 2026. The hotel is expected to be a proper sister hotel to The Yeatman. It will tell the story of the city of Porto and its development as an international trading centre. The Bearsley is expected to be the first carbon neutral hotel in Portugal, possibly Europe

 

9. What can the industry do to improve the promotion and education of Port wine and grow market share in the ever-evolving global beverage marketplace?

At the turn of the century the major multinational companies exited from the Port industry leading to further consolidation. Their presence had helped to internationalise Port through their distribution businesses. They typically had big marketing budgets, and they financed marketing and sales activity across the world. This meant lots of different companies all waving the Port flag. With the concentration of ownership, the sheer number of people out promoting Port reduced just as globalisation was expanding the market potential. Family company ownership is great, but does not have the marketing punch of multinationals.

Consequently, the challenge to educate consumers, give tastings and education has become a bigger challenge.

This is why it was so important to ‘put Porto on the map’ and get consumers to our city and our valley. This makes it easier to show the beauty of our vineyards, simplify the perceived complexity of our ranges and create Ambassadors that can carry a Port passion to the world. This amplification of message through new channels is paying dividends.

 

10. What non-wine activities do you enjoy?

I started my working life in the British Army and through that experience I have enjoyed the outdoor life. This led me back to climbing mountains in my 40’s. In a business where you eat and drink a lot, having a focus and reason to exercise is key. I have taken Port to the top of every mountain I have climbed and always enjoyed a glass with the view.

I am keen on photography having once taught the subject. Modern digital cameras make it so much easier to shoot and edit.

My love of history has become a driving force in lifelong learning but has found its expression in the drinking vessel collection that is one of the museums in the World of Wine. This collection spans 9,000 years from cultures across the globe; I have no doubt that it will continue to be a passion, and a vector for learning, for my remaining years.

Of course, with Port in them 🙂