The Big Interview: Adrian Bridge, CEO of The Fladgate Partnership

With his steely sense of determination, The Fladgate Partnership’s CEO, Adrian Bridge, has steered the creation of a new cultural centre in Porto, designed to turn visitors into ambassadors for Port, as Patrick Schmitt MW discovers.

WHILE HE’S always displayed a restless enthusiasm, and an admirable sense of urgency, I noticed an even greater level of energy and excitement in Adrian Bridge when I met him last month in Porto. Perhaps it was because the CEO of Port, hotel and tourism group The Fladgate Partnership was going on holiday the next day – to Norway’s Svalbard to see Polar bears. But his animated, high-paced state was more likely fuelled by a huge project – the reason for my visit.

I’ve known Bridge for almost 20 years, and, pre-pandemic, tended to see him on at least a yearly basis, be it in the Douro or Düsseldorf, London or Hong Kong, because, if he’s not at the Fladgate headquarters in Porto, or in the vineyards of Port country, he’s at a major trade fair, sharing his insights on market trends, and revealing the details of an impending enterprise: there’s always something newsworthy in the pipeline with Bridge.

His initiatives have systematically become bigger and bolder, extending in ambition way beyond the bounds of a standard brand-owning drinks business, even one as significant in the world of fortified wine as his group, which owns Taylor ’s and Fonseca, along with Croft, and Krohn – some of the greatest names in Port.

Meeting Bridge at The Yeatman – the vast luxury hotel and spa he started building on the Douro’s south bank on an empty site in 2009 – he walks us towards the site of his latest creation, the object of his focus. World of Wine, or WOW, is a massive scheme, representing “the biggest urban regeneration project in Portugal, if not Europe”, occupying more than 55,000m2in Vila Nova de Gaia (a city and a municipality of the Porto district).

For those lucky enough to stay at The Yeatman – one of the globe’s great wine hotels, complete with an unrivalled collection of Portuguese pours, a Caudalie Vinothérapy spa, a decanter-shaped swimming pool, vast rooms (all with views across the Douro), and a Harris hawk called Lucifer to keep the seagulls at bay during breakfasts on the terrace – WOW is a neighbouring attraction, connected by a two-minute descent down a granite staircase, lined with blue Agapanthus plants.

For those staying elsewhere, WOW is a short walk up from the south bank of the Douro river, itself the opposite side to Porto’s historic city centre, which can now be quickly traversed thanks to a ferry that crosses the water in minutes. The service, which takes more than 500 people daily, was instigated by Bridge to better unite Vila Nova de Gaia with Porto’s old town.

AMBITIOUS PROJECT

Over a glass of Encruzado at WOW’s popular fish restaurant, The Golden Catch, Bridge explains why he embarked on such an ambitious project, which has cost more than €107 million (£91m) to complete. Essentially, Bridge, having built a luxury hotel – which in 2016 he expanded from its original 83 rooms to 109 – wanted to make sure that Porto was a major tourist destination, with the hope of turning the city’s visitors into lifelong ambassadors for Port. To achieve this, he needed something more than a large, upmarket hotel. He knew it was necessary to lay on interactive attractions to entice people to this part of Portugal, and retain them for longer than one night.

Porto has a historic centre, some beautiful baroque buildings, and plenty of Port ‘experiences’, but lacked galleries and museums, as well as a broad range of restaurants. WOW would provide that, while teaching tourists about wine – rather than just Port – in a novel, enjoyable, and informative way. Bridge says: “Porto had 17 places that would give you the history of Port, but nowhere that would tell you how wine is made.”

Creating WOW was made possible by years of consolidation in the Port industry driven by Bridge, who joined the Portmaking group in 1994, following an invitation from his father-in-law, Alistair Robertson, a descendant of the Taylor ’sowning Yeatman family.

Bridge, having been an investment banker in London, rose through the ranks rapidly at Taylor ’s, becoming managing director in 2000. A year later he oversaw a €30m deal to buy Delaforce and Croft Port from Diageo. In 2013, he acquired Wiese & Krohn, with its extensive stockholding of fine Tawny ports. Such deals, combined with existing Taylor ’s properties, gave him more than five hectares of historic Port warehouses in Vila Nova de Gaia. Having moved much of the Port ageing nearer to the point of wine production, around 60 miles away from the city up the Douro valley, such spacious buildings were no longer needed for storing barrels.

Ripe for repurposing, he just needed to convince the authorities of his development plans and raise the money. Neither was simple for a project of this size, but Bridge doesn’t do small-scale, nor give up when faced with setbacks. Indeed, he mentions in passing later on in our discussion that WOW received an initial ‘no’ from the planners, but he persisted, and eventually gained approval, having made alterations to the scheme – sadly ditching a “giant barrel in a glass cube” – without compromising WOW’s footprint or content. Funding was secured too – with banks providing low-interest-rate loans – secured against valuable Fladgate stocks of Port and property, and some EU backing as well.

Then came the construction, starting in January 2018, which saw historic Port lodges perched on stilts while WOW was created alongside, and up to 17 metres below the old warehouses. It was an expensive approach, but a necessary one – Bridge had to conserve the structures and preserve the skyline. Thankfully, such an apparently precarious technique was secure enough to survive an earth tremor during building works. Within three years, WOW was complete, opening officially on 31 July 2020.

The end result is more than a ‘world of wine’ however. It comprises 12 restaurants, bars and cafés, and seven museums, taking in topics from Porto’s history to chocolate, fashion, and a brilliant permanent exhibition about cork, an extraordinary collection of drinking vessels dating back to 9,000BC amassed by Bridge, and a wine school. There’s a gallery for temporary displays, and events spaces – which have recently been used for a craft beer festival. With many of the buildings arranged around a courtyard with views across the Douro to Porto’s historic river front – Bridge’s WOW serves as a mini city centre for Vila Nova de Gaia, acting as a hub for meeting, drinking and eating, as well as events, while also providing visitors with an opportunity to learn about a range of subjects. This is why, rather than promoting the area as the World of Wine, Bridge is calling it ‘Porto’s new cultural district’. He says it’s already providing a draw for other businesses to set up restaurants, shops and further attractions in the area, making this side of the Douro river even more appealing for tourists.

WOW is an extraordinary achievement. But one feels the challenge for Bridge is attracting visitors – he wants to bring in one million, annually. After all, it’s in this endeavour that he was dealt a cruel blow, even though he plays down the stress it must have caused him. Opening WOW in the summer of 2020, his timing could barely have been worse for a large touristic attraction. At the early stages of the pandemic, he faced intermittent lockdowns and Covid-related restrictions, which would hamper the influx of visitors, while lessening the impact of the experiences for those who could visit – the museums contain a lot of imaginative interactive experiences that couldn’t be operational.

STAFFING CHALLENGE

Thankfully now, everything is open and running as intended, although Bridge has been left, post-pandemic, with the problem of finding and retaining 350 staff to run the site – achallenge he has taken on by providing accommodation for half the employees at WOW, some of whom he has recruited from former Portuguese colony Cape Verde.

The few hours I had in which to explore the facility were nowhere near enough to fully indulge in the sheer mass of brilliant content found in the WOW complex. But from my brief visit, I believe that all visitors to Porto should begin their break with a trip to the exhibition on Porto’s past and present – afirst-rate exposé on the city’s history, and current nature. And, for anyone, from the occasional sipper to the most educated drinks professional, The Wine Experience is a must, with all aspects to this complex product clearly and creatively explained.

Also, the family-friendly Chocolate Story was a revelatory experience, and has changed my view of this product for the better, while highlighting the product’s similarities with wine. This part of WOW has also proved a launchpad for another aspect to The Fladgate Partnership: it’s now the first Port producer to be a chocolate maker and distributor, having launched a brand called Vinte Vinte. Meaning 20:20, it takes its name from the latitudinal positions north and south of the equator, between which are the best conditions for the cacao tree, the fruit from which is, of course, the basis of chocolate.

For Bridge, WOW is needed for Porto to thrive, adding that while there may be a wealth of hotels in the city, and an increasing number of first-rate places to eat, “content is critical” to increase the place’s pull for tourists. Already, he says Porto, which benefits from Englishspeaking Portuguese natives, and a cooling Atlantic influence, has become “a magnet for high-quality food and beverages. When I first came here there was one Michelin-starred restaurant, Portucale, that was old fashioned, but had amazing views. In 2011, The Yeatman restaurant gained its first star, then a second in 2016, and there’s now another two-star restaurant, and four more with one star, as well as 15 to 20 that are knocking on the door of Michelin quality,” he says, before comparing the rise of the city’s food scene with that of Bilbao’s, which has become a capital of gastronomic excellence.

The visitors are also needed to benefit Port, not just so they go home as ambassadors for the fortified wine, but also as consumers in Portugal. “During the pandemic the Port market in Portugal fell by around 45%, which told us that around half the people consuming Port in Portugal are foreigners travelling here,” says Bridge, adding that such drinkers represent “a huge opportunity”. That’s not just due to the amount they drink but the fact they are a great source of premium Port sales, which is where the growth is, he says. He points out that 23.5% of volume Port sales are “special category”, but this upmarket part of the sector represent 43.5% of its value.

Getting WOW up and running during the Covid era hasn’t distracted Bridge from Port production. “During the pandemic we added 100 hectares of vineyards,” he tells me, taking the group’s total holding to 600ha in the Douro. Such expansion has come about due to “an intergenerational change” in the region, encouraging lots of growers to sell, exacerbated by, in many cases, the need to replant vines, because a large quantity were put in the ground during the 1970s and ’80s.

He is not amassing vineyards for table wines, and is “focused on Port”, which, he says “did very well in the pandemic”, with most Port shippers “having record sales in the last two years”. Bridge ascribes such growth to the fact that: “Port is the oil of good conversation, and, being fuller and sweeter [than wine], provides a comforting aspect that was helpful in the pandemic.”

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Bridge – who in 2008 created the first pink Port – has also continued to innovate when it came to Fladgate’s offering this decade, tapping into two trends in the expanding market. One of these was an increased demand during Covid for ready-to-serve drinks, prompting him to bring out a pre-mixed Port and tonic, having registered the Portotonic name.

The other development was an increased call for top-end Tawnies, with Bridge being the pioneer in pushing for a 50- year-old age statement from the Port Wine Institute (IVDP), when the oldest had previously been 40. Having achieved this, he launched Golden Age – an unctuous drop bearing the new age statement – adelicious way to mark a 50thanniversary or perhaps a birthday.

Beyond such new product developments, Bridge has also continued to lead the discussion on possible solutions to the challenges of climate change. This has taken place through the Porto Protocol, which he founded in July 2018. For his own company, he told me last month that “the entire group will be 100% renewable by 2023”, referring to the sustainable source of energy used to power operations.

Finally, Bridge has continued to expand The Fladgate Partnership’s distribution business, which handles table wines as well as Ports, along with chocolate. He also oversees a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, onwine.pt, which grew significantly during the pandemic, and specialises in mid-market wines that bigger retailers tend not to stock.

As for the future, Bridge suggests there are further phases of development to come for the group’s tourism side of the business, as he points to some of the company’s derelict buildings, visible from WOW’s courtyard. He also confirms that he will be constructing “a sister hotel to The Yeatman”, which is running at 98% capacity all year. The empty Fonseca buildings that run alongside the river front on Vila Nova de Gaia, make up, he says, a “great site” that will offer an “oasis of calm in the middle of a busy city” with views across to Porto’s famous double-decker bridge.

“It will be a five-star hotel with 99 rooms, restaurant, infinity swimming pool and bar, and “some quite fun other items”, such as a “climbing and bouldering section” due to the naturally rocky landscape in this area.

REASON TO VISIT

Bridge and his team visit major Port-consuming markets on a regular basis, but, by providing a reason for people to come to Porto with fine hotels and visitor experiences, his job is made much easier.

This Portuguese city has always been a wonderful place to visit, but with WOW, Porto has become the globe’s most complete weekend destination for the wine-loving gourmand. Yes it’s been a long, slow, soft opening due to Covid, but WOW has been a catalyst for change in Porto, which, thanks to Bridge, is shifting fast from being a hidden gem to polished diamond in the eyes of the welltravelled oenophile.