FTLOP is proud to introduce you to: GEORGE SANDEMAN

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

I was born in London in September 1953, because "my mother was there".

My mother was Romero Valdespino by birth, descended of D. Alonso Valdespino, one of the 24 Knights who accompanied King Afonso X in the liberation of Jerez de la Frontera in 1264, and producer of Jerez-Sherry-Xeres Wine.

My father was the sixth-generation descendant of George Glas Sandeman, founder of the George G. Sandeman Company in London, who acquired the wine business founded in 1790 from his uncle, George Sandeman.

Being the first-born of my family and seventh generation since the founding of Sandeman as a wine merchant, I have always felt a strong connection to wine. From an early age it was natural for me to visit the "bodegas” in Jerez, and I remember well, at age 5, coming by car from England with my grandfather to pay a visit to the Bodegas. I have photos with my two grandparents - Patrick Sandeman and António Romero Valdespino - at the entrance of the Sandeman Bodega in Jerez.

It was funny that the two Bodegas were wall-to-wall neighbors, and as a child for many summers I stayed at my Valdespino grandmothers house, and walked to Sandeman, past the door of the Valdespino Bodega.

At Sandeman, I circulated freely – at the age of 8 or 9 years - "helping" and learning from the men who treated the Sherry soleras. My favorite spot became the bottling line, where at age 10, I spent days performing a fixed function - sometimes on the hand-held bottler, sometimes on the labeler, or the bottle washer. Of course, the speed of the lines at that time was much slower than today!

When I made my first visit to Portugal and to Porto at the age of 10, I was traveling by car with my father and younger brother, and I was set on the path to follow my father into the wine business. At that time, it never occurred to me to "escape" the responsibility which came with the privilege of being a descendant of two great names in the historical wine business.

However, at the age of 17, I suggested to my father that I would not join the company upon finishing school, and he was furious! It was the worst argument we ever had!

A few months later I started my first internship in Sandeman, at the winery in Peso de Regua in the Douro. A clear indication from my father that he was serious about my going into the company.

Four months in the Douro in 1971 was an eternity for an 18-year-old, and the monthly opening of the cinema in Regua, which showed memorable films of Sofia Loren in her heyday, was a highlight.Working the very wet 1971 harvest, in Celeirós and San Mamede de Riba Tua, followed by a further five months in the Lodges in Porto, was a great grounding in the art of Port making

In fact, it took me about six years - between internships and other jobs - to take up a position in the export department in London in 1977.

In 1980, Sandeman was acquired by the Canadian company Seagram and I moved to New York, where I spent about 10 years, working in marketing for several of the group’s companies, handling wines from around the world including California, Spain, France, Germany and Port, which allowed me to visit and learn about many regions.

In 1990, I came to Porto to manage the Sandeman Port Company under the Seagram umbrella. My father retired in 1992, and I became Chairman of Sandeman and Royal Warrant Holder.

It was during this time that we restructured the whole Sandeman portfolio, with a focus on the Aged Tawnies, upgrading the quality of all our Ports and premiumizing the image of Sandeman.

In 2002, Seagram was dismantled and sold off, and after working for 20 years with the Canadian company, Sandeman (and I) joined the Portuguese company Sogrape, owned by the Guedes family. As a Board Member, I had little to do with Sandeman from then onward and became responsible for the company’s Government and Public Affairs area, maintaining relationships with Government offices, trade associations and federations, both at national and European levels.

This led me to start my new company – EXAMPULLA – through which I can share the experience I have gained over 40 years.

 

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?

This is not an easy question because it all depends on the mood and the occasion. However, I’d say that a Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny is still my Port of choice on a daily basis. Having said this, a mature Vintage Port is a pleasure and a privilege, but I do enjoy a Port Cocktail (although Portonic is low on my list in this respect).

I can say without doubt that my two most memorable Ports are Niepoort’s Garrafeira 1952 which I first experienced in 1992. I had received a bottle from Rolf Niepoort at the end of 1990, and it took me a while to find the occasion to open it. I was so taken with the wine that next morning I messengered a handwritten letter to Rolf telling him that it was the best Port I had experienced.
By lunchtime the messenger returned with another bottle and a note from Rolf saying “better a full bottle than and empty one!”. It is a typical example of the generosity of this family, a tradition continued by Dirk.

In my year as Treasurer of the Factory House, I was able to serve Sandeman 1945 from the cellar at the Treasurer’s Dinner. It had been put in by my father and was absolutely fabulous. It was so good that Bruce Guimaraens stood up and complimented the wine selection after the loyal toast.

I must mention the Sandeman 1873, which our friend Stewart Todd brought to the 2024 Confraria dinner. Although the fill was mid-shoulder, the Port was remarkably fresh and alive. The thrill of mature Vintage Port is not just drinking a wonderful mature wine, but contemplating the history which has taken place since the wine was made.

 

3. Besides those mentioned above, who are some Port producers that you most enjoy drinking, and please reveal a few emerging Port firms which have impressed you?

It depends on the category. One favors styles which one is most familiar with, but there are other companies’ styles which are also outstanding. It has been interesting to taste some of the releases from smaller Douro based producers – especially old Tawnies.

I have always enjoyed the wine from Andresen, Cockburn, Croft and, of course, Niepoort.

 

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

The people who have stood by me after my departure from the Confraria Board. These people are true friends.
There is a lot of pleasure to be gained when introducing new drinkers to the simple pleasure of enjoying Port, chilled or on ice, in cocktails or simply on its own. The best surprise is that when Port is matched with food - other than the traditional cheese or dessert!

 

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

Easy part: “Most happiness” My first salaried job was with Hedges & Butler at Mile End, where they set up bottling installations for spirits and wine. I anonymously joined the “Outside Maintenance” group and was put in charge of a “gang” responsible for cleaning the insides of the half-million liter underground stainless-steel tanks which were being built to store high proof Bacardi Rum imported from Puerto Rico. One of the Irishmen on the gang complained that his nephew had decided to join a rock band and that was not real work! Today his nephew is better known as Bono.

I still think of the inside of those tanks every time I use wire (steel) wool! It was a great experience, and I learned a lot of the ins and outs of working in a production environment looking from the ground up, which has proved very useful as I progressed through management roles in later life.

After 40 years in the wine trade, I decided to put my experience in the numerous roles in which I have worked into something I could share to support people and organisations in the wine sector. I named my company EX AMPULLA (Exampulla Lda) the Latin for “out of the bottle”.

 

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

The person who influenced me most was Hugo Ungricht, a Swiss who had adopted Jerez as his "homeland." He was for many years Managing Director of Sandeman Jerez, and during the Spanish Civil War, was the faithful custodian of the company. Being a Swiss, he could not be touched. He taught me the importance of having values at work and treating people in the company as people. He had the habit of being the first person to arrive in the morning, go round the Bodega, and greet every person he met by name - and there were more than a hundred workers. He was tough and disciplined with me, and taught me discipline and the art of leadership by example, and ensured that I learned the mysteries of Sherry.

When I first came to Porto a big influence on enjoying Port Wine was Robin Reid, Managing Director at Croft and I was lucky to be a regular guest at Robin and Elsa's house when I was in Porto in the ‘70’s - not only because they were so much fun and served great Port wines, but also because they had four lovely daughters!

In the Tasting room in Gaia, an inescapable influence was my great friend Eduardo da Costa Seixas, who always guided me in the fragrances of Port Wine, noting that the aroma is more important than the color. He was Head Taster at Sandeman for years and today continues to produce Port and Douro Wines at Quinta de Santa Júlia in the Douro, high above Regua.

 

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

Port is in a peculiar place. While premium Ports and collectibles may still be generating interest, the younger basic wines are losing significant volume. The challenge is to turn around this low interest by new consumers.

There is a lack of unity within the Port sector, and a constant unstable relationship between the major Port companies, competition with small producers and the inefficient promotion makes it very difficult to turn Port around at this moment. We see this in the declining numbers of Port sales, the high inventories and the reduced harvest purchases.

Without unity, there can be no progress. This unity requires vision, and there is no vision of what Port should be and how it should be positioned to the modern consumer.

Above all else, Port needs everyone – producers and shippers - to work together, to agree a clear category objective and strategy which will reinforce the image of the 90% which is not Vintage! This will require creativity and promotion which has not been done by IVDP (a regulatory body) or AEVP (a political association).

It needs to be done by a neutral organization which brings everyone together to promote Port in a professional and creative manner, making it appealing which adds value to the consumers life.

The Douro wine trade has grown very well in the last 15 years, but its sustainability is at risk as production costs rise, and retail prices in the marketplace don’t increase to a realistic level.

 

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

My company, EX AMPULLA (www.exampulla.com), is at work on several projects, in great part supporting Public Affairs and Education.

There has been an increasing stigmatization of wine by health authorities as they stop distinguishing between alcohol abuse and the moderate wine consumption within a healthy and balanced lifestyle – putting the wine sector at risk.

I am currently supporting the launch of VITAEVINO (www.vitaevino.org) a campaign in support of the culture and moderate consumption of wine launched to give a voice to citizens, consumers, and the vast wine community.

 

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?

Curiously, Porto, which we always consider with the weight of its tradition, is a wine of innovation. Created by the new oenological practice of addition of brandy during fermentation, it has innovation throughout its history - the blending, the Vintage Port, the classification of Old Tawnies with Year, the LBV, the Old Whites with Year, are all evolutions of the original wine, and even Rosé Port can be considered innovation!

For me, Port Wine is certainly not just a wine of innovation, but also of variety, with different aromas and flavors and colors that range from more intense purple to more golden tawny. It is difficult to decide on one style that I love more than another – it has to be in context with the moment, the occasion or the food and company.

However, rejuvenating the image of Port among younger wine drinkers is key, reducing the formal, old-fashioned, “my grandparents drank Port”, is a key step. Sandeman always had a branded marketing approach which presented Port as a drink which everyone could enjoy. As far back as 1955 the Sandeman book had suggestions on ways to enjoy Port. A neck-label promoting Porto Branco and Tonic was used in 1963 to communicate in the USA, and in 1996 we sponsored a book entitled “Port to Port”, which showed Port in the light of fashion, food and cocktails.
Innovation should be applied to the way Port is communicated and presented to make it more relevant to potential consumers. The language for Zillenial consumers must be different to that used to speak to Millennial wine drinkers.

The way we express information on Port has to resonate with the audience with which we are communicating.

One thing is certain; when people try Port for the first time, they are surprised at how good it tastes, and it always surpasses their expectation!

 

10. What non-wine activities do you enjoy?

Swimming in the sea.