Bridge: Port industry witnessing ‘a moment of major change’

The Port industry is witnessing “a moment of major change” driven by the table wine movement, and is becoming increasingly polarised, according to Adrian Bridge of Taylor’s.

Adrian Bridge at the teal-hued Taylor’s restaurant in Porto

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent trip to Porto, Bridge said: “Port’s value sales are growing but volume is declining. In the past Port has been the cheapest wine available in some markets, which is not good or sustainable.

“The Port industry is witnessing a moment of major change, driven by the table wine movement, and is becoming increasingly polarised.”

While many Port houses, including Symington, Quinta do Noval and Niepoort, have moved into table wine production, major player Taylors, which produces one in every three bottles of Port drunk around the world, has chosen to stick steadfastly to Port.

“Our business grew by 7% last year and we’re making hay while the sun shines.

“To serve this growth we need to make more Port and we need all the grapes our suppliers grow.

“We need to make a lot of Port today in order to be able to sell it in a decade, and we don’t have a surplus of grapes,” Bridge said.

“If we were to make a dry wine there is a reasonable expectation that it should be close to a 100-point wine quality wise, and in order to achieve this, it would have to be made from our best grapes.

“We’re choosing to make Port as we have experience in it, but are going against the grain as less Port is being made each year.

“The average price for a pipe of grapes in the Douro is around €650 and table wines tend to sell for a third of the cost of Port,” he added, though isn’t ruling out the idea of dry wine completely.

“It doesn’t mean that we won’t ever make table wine, as Port growth might slow and the beneficio system might be gotten rid of. It’s a social subsidy for small farmers and I think it will go sooner or later as grape prices should only be tied to quality,” Bridge said.

As for the growing popularity of Porto as a tourist destination, Bridge said a lot of its success is down to low cost airlines flying to the city.

“People thought I was crazy building the Yeatman in 2010 as tourism wasn’t big in Porto then but we charge €260 a night and are full. If you build it they won’t necessarily come – you need to generate demand and we’ve put €450,000 into promoting Porto as a tourist destination,” Bridge said.

“Low cost airlines flying to Porto have been hugely positive for the region as they have brought people to Porto. People think low cost means low quality but that’s not true,” he added.

Bridge is expanding the Yeatman with 26 new rooms, including a “mega suite” featuring a private pool and a barrel bed.