The Symingtons, of Scottish, English and Portuguese descent, have been Port producers for five generations since 1882, although their family’s involvement in Port dates back fourteen generations to 1652 through their great-grandmother Beatrice de Carvalhosa Atkinson, whose ancestors were among Port’s pioneers. Symington Family Estates is the only major Port Company owned by one family.

Five of the family (Paul, Johnny, Rupert, Dominic and Charles) work together, maintaining the vineyards and making the wines for four historic Port houses: Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s. The Symingtons also own Quinta do Vesuvio, one of Portugal’s greatest vineyard estates. The family accounts for 34% of all Premium Port, making it one of the leading quality Port producers.

The Symingtons are the leading vineyard owners of the Douro Valley (Unesco World Heritage classification) in Northern Portugal with 27 vineyard properties, known as quintas, amounting to 1 035 hectares of vines of which 126 ha are organically farmed. This is the largest area of organic vineyard in Portugal, reinforcing the family’s commitment to sustainable agriculture in this uniquely beautiful mountain wine region.