The joint managing director of this family run company is Paul Symington, born into the company, and with Port running through his veins. We asked him six questions...
Describe yourself in three words
Passionate about Port
Outside of Portuguese wines and ports, what do you like drinking?
Really good Bordeaux, except for its crazy prices.
What is the best wine that you have ever tried, and what is the best Port?
The best Port I have ever drunk is the Dow's 1896. A Port that my great-grandfather sent from Portugal to my grandfather, Maurice Symington, for him to enjoy on his 21st birthday in the trenches in France in 1916, when the wine was just 20 years old. Probably the other greatest wine would have to be Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 that I was lucky enough to taste once at Mouton courtesy of my family's membership in the PFV, an association of European wine families. I had one glass.
What is your most prized possession?
My personal 42 acre Douro vineyard near Provesende in the Alto Douro.
What would you do if you hadn't joined the family company in the wine trade?
Become a historian, but I would have to live in the Douro.
Name three people, real or fictional, living or dead, that would be at your dream dinner party and what would you be drinking?
Sir Winston Churchill, The Duke of Wellington and John Churchill the first Duke of Marlborough. We would drink Graham's 1948 and a Dow's 1955 Vintage Port and would discuss their military victories and military history. With Wellington, we would discuss his battles in Portugal and Spain between 1807 and 1814.
Symington Family Estate
Photo by Jim Budd
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