The Symington family and its individual members own 23 quintas in the Douro, a Portuguese wine region making them the largest collective landholder in the region in Portugal. Indeed, the Symingtons now belong to the Primum Familiae Vini, an international association of 11 wine-making families including Château Mouton Rothschild, Hugel & Fils, Maison Joseph Drouhin, Marchesi Antinori, and Vega Sicilia, and make one in every three bottles of better-quality port sold worldwide.

Thursday Life’s wine consultant Christopher Reckord enjoyed a glass of port recently with Rupert Symington, one of the three joint managing directors of the Symington Port empire.

Chris Reckord (CR): How did you get involved in wine/port business?

Rupert Symington (RS): I was quite literally born into the port business, my father and grandfather having been also born in Oporto with their personal lives and working careers closely intertwined, as is the case now for me and for my children. From a young age I accompanied my father to the vineyards and played amongst the port barrels. After a few years of education and work experience outside Portugal, I returned in 1992 to join the family business. There was no huge pressure from my father to come at a particular time, but the offer was on the table, and when I started to grow tired of 5:00 am starts in the London financial markets it was definitely time for a change.

CR: What is your style of port ?

RS: My own favourite style of port for everyday is aged tawny. These are wines aged for many years in barrel, allowing them to evaporate and concentrate while retaining a wonderful fresh acidity on the palate. A 21-year-old tawny is a brilliant pairing for apple pie or crème brulee. I keep a bottle in my fridge and my wife and I will have a sip almost every night.

CR: What about wine, do you have a favourite ?

RS: I love earthy red wines made from traditional regions and mixed varietals. The classic village wines of the Northern Rhone are amongst my favourites.

CR: Which wine countries have you visited? Where else would you like to visit ?

RS: I have been fortunate enough to travel to most of the major wine regions, working a harvest in Australia when I was 18, and then travelling extensively in France, Spain, California and South Africa. I would like to explore more of the Italian wine regions and to visit Chile and Argentina.

CR: What are your thoughts on the wine scene here in Jamaica?

RS: Jamaica seems to have a growing interest in wine as evidenced by the stores I have visited. I was impressed by the range of different producers and different countries represented, and I found wines quite well- priced despite quite high import duties. I am quite sure that once Jamaicans have become comfortable with making wine part of their everyday routine (and budget!) we will see consumers looking to discover more esoteric offerings such as port. A lot of people have heard of port but don’t really want to try it, as they think it’s a cold weather drink for formal occasions only. Actually port is a fantastic wine to relax with and sip at the end of the day. The wine is sweet, but finishes with a nice fresh acidity which makes it very food friendly and easy to drink. Try chilling it slightly for a great evening finisher. Try it with your favourite desserts or with a nice cheddar cheese when having friends around for an informal dinner. I’m convinced that Jamaicans will love the richness and smoothness of really good port and it could become really popular as it has done in Trinidad in recent years.

CR: Please remind me of all your brands that are here.

RS: In Jamaica, we have three brands represented by different importers – Graham’s, Cockburn’s and Dow’s – which are independent historic houses which my family is fortunate now to own and manage.

CR: List three things that you don’t think our readers know about port.

1. Port comes from one of the driest places in the world where vines are grown without irrigation, and each vine produces very few grapes. So port has more flavour in the glass than most other wines.

2. Most port will stay good for a few weeks once you open the bottle, not that you’ll need to wait that long before finishing it !

3. Port is one of the best wines to pair with desserts owing to its fresh acidity. Try Graham’s Six Grapes or Cockburn’s Special Reserve with chocolate, or Graham’s Ten-Year-Old Tawny with crème brulee.

Christopher Reckord – Businessman, Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter: @Reckord

Captions:

(Photos: Chris Reckord)

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Rupert Symington, joint managing director – Symington Family Estates with a bottle of Grahams Six Grapes Port, imported by Betco Premier.

_DSC6861.JPG Rupert Symington, joint managing director, Symington Family Estates presents his Cockburn ports, imported by Select Brands,

at a recent tasting.

_DSC6877.JPG – Taking in the history of Port was from left: Andrew Desnoes, co-managing director of Select Brands Cockburn Port importer, Jonathan Dougall of Dougall Flooring, Uncork’s Anna Kay von Dueszein and Intcomex Jamaica’s Matthew Deleon

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Select Brands Marketing Manager Dominic Beckford pauses from discussions with PICA Deputy CEO Garth Williams and his lovely wife Enola

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Rupert Symington, Joint Managing Director – Symington Family Estates pours Cockburn’s 10 Year Old port for Intcomex Jamaica’s Matthew Deleon