Graham's Port

The story of two families in three centuries. For nearly two hundred years, W&J Graham's has been an independent, family-owned business known for producing the finest Port wines. Graham's has always been a pioneer. Graham's was one of the first Port companies to invest in its own vineyards in Portugal's Douro Valley in 1890 and is now at the forefront of innovation in winemaking techniques. Today, five of Symington's cousins share responsibility for every aspect of the business and personally make Graham's wines. They, too, have been involved with Port and the Douro for generations, with ancestors dating back to the mid-17th century.

William and John Graham founded their company in Porto in the northwest of Portugal to trade in textiles. In 1820 they accepted twenty-seven barrels of Port as payment of a debt. The two brothers then decided to dedicate their energies to making the best Port wines from the Douro Valley: and so the Graham's Port house was born. The Graham family already had extensive business interests overseas, both in their native Scotland and in India. They were considered by a contemporary historian to be "among the merchant princes of Great Britain."

The Symington family has had links with W&J Graham's since 1882, when the young Scottish businessman, Andrew James Symington, came to Porto to work for the company. In 1891, he married Beatrice de Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson, whose ancestors have been involved in port trade since the 17th century. When Andrew James, known to all as AJ, visited the Douro Valley for the first time, he was enchanted. This began a devotion to Port and the Douro that has not waned in more than five generations of Symingtons. He passed this passion on to his sons and they also to theirs; And so the legacy of this family of wine producers continues.

Graham's first harvest owned by the Symington family was extremely auspicious, with the announcement of Graham's Vintage Port from 1970. The 1970 is considered by many to be one of the best wines of that century. Almost a hundred years after their ancestor AJ Symington left Graham's to set up his own business as a port producer, the family's relationship with this Port House was complete. In addition to the family's other Port brands, Graham's is the only remaining British Port company that is independently owned by one family. This ensures that every aspect of the making of Graham's Ports is controlled and cared for in an intimate way.