Fells’ new MD catches up with Jo Gilbert on the company’s past, present and future, including its secret weapon.
As one of the longest-standing agent importers in the UK, Fells has a history that is almost very nearly unique. Like Mentzendorff, its biggest competitor, Fells happens to have been founded in 1858, before going on to represent the interests of a leading Port house.
Leading Port and wine distributor Fells has announced strategic changes to the top roles in its leadership team, with Euan Mackay taking on the mantle of MD and Steve Moody transitioning to chairman.
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Paul Symington received the CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) from His Majesty King Charles III at Windsor Castle on 14 February for services to UK/Portugal relations and to social and environmental sustainability in Portugal. The award was announced in Her Majesty the Queen’s last Birthday Honours list in the spring of 2022.
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With the mantra of “not your grandfather’s port club”, Symington Family Estates has teamed up with Rebel Port Club to launch a speakeasy style pop-up experience in London aimed at initiating a new generation of port drinkers.
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New Government legislation will mean an additional 13% price increase overnight added to every bottle of fortified wine entering the country come January of next year, according to Steve Moody, chairman of Fells, which counts the Ports of Symington Family Estates, Blandy’s Madeira and Barbadillo sherries in its portfolio.
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Wine and spirits are, at their heart, agricultural products, albeit given the somewhat magical twist of fermentation or distillation. Which means that any adverse affect from climate change can and will filter through to the final product, literally under the consumer’s nose, rather than just remaining a more peripheral concern in the wider world. Producers of wine especially are increasingly aware of what was described as an “existential threat” to their livelihoods, as outlined at a recent International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) seminar in London.
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Symington Family Estates has launched a new video course ‘School of Port’, an online video course about port and the Douro.
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The UK remains at the forefront of the premium Port category, with sales of late-bottled vintage (LBV), quality white Port, aged tawnies, single vineyard and classic vintage ports, all remaining resilient through Covid. A nation of consumers stuck at home, looking to indulge, appears to have been largely positive for the quality end of UK Port sales. Built on a long-standing relationship with the UK, sales at Symington Family Estates are up 10% by value and 9% by volume compared with this time last year.
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Leading Port maker James Symington has passed away, leaving behind many decades’ worth of dedication to his and his family’s craft.
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The Symington Family has announced its 2018 vintage Ports - to be launched via live video presentation for the first time.
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The Symington family has launched the first wines from its new project at Quinta da Fonte Souto in the Portalegre sub-region of the Alentejo in southern Portugal.
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Symington Family Estates has given its Dow’s Aged Tawny portfolio an overhaul in a bid to extend the Port’s appeal to a younger audience and beyond Christmas and formal occasions.
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Following a year of challenging weather extremes, the Douro’s 2018 harvest has given up some “excellent Ports and Douro wines” according to Symington Family Estate’s annual harvest report.
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Paul Symington is stepping down as chairman of Symington Family Estates at the end of this year following a 40-year career in the family business.
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The Symington Family has reported ‘exceptionally strong’ demand for its 2016 Vintage Ports.
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At first glance, it appears to be a case of “same old story” when analysing port’s prospects in the UK. According to CGA Strategy, in the 12 months to February 24, 2018, port sales (by volume, 9-litre cases) decreased by more than 11%, falling 9.8% in value. Nielsen data concurs: retail sales declined by more than 2%, remaining static in MAT TY 142,687 % CHG VS value at £77 million (MAT to March 3, 2018).
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Purity, precision and terroir were very much the buzz words at the 2016 Vintage Port Preview Tasting in London on May 17, where Symington Family Estates, The Fladgate Partnership and Quinta do Noval collaborated to show wines from the recently and unanimously declared 2016 vintage.
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Quinta do Noval and Quinta do Romaneira are the latest Port houses to declare 2016 a vintage year, following the lead of top Port house Symington Family Estates.
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Pre-eminent port producer Symington Family Estates has announced plans to spend up to €4 to €5 million on a new winemaking facility at Quinta do Ataíde in the Douro to underpin the quality of its table wine production.
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Gonzalo Pedrosa has a refreshing take on how Port producers should collaborate in the way the Swiss watch industry did with Swatch – to boost the category as a whole. Andrew Catchpole catches up with the recently departed champion of the colheita style
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