Does Port still have an image problem?
For wine consultant Richard Mayson, Port still has a “long way to go” to shed its stereotype as your grandma’s favourite drink, or something that’s broken out once a year in a post-Christmas ritual. Port producers agree that the wine has an image problem, but through fresh packaging, premiumisation and tourism, things are “slowly but surely” changing. db reports.
Last year, global wine sales fell to their lowest level since 1961, with Port sales in particular nosediving by almost 25% between 2006 and 2021 (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto). Trying to revive the fortified wine, Port producers are engaging with the mixology space, collabing with somms and educating consumers on just how versatile Port can be. But does Port still have an image problem? We spoke to those in the know to find out.
For Richard Mayson, fortified wine consultant and author of Port and the Douro, Port still has “a long way to go” in changing its image, but has been “more successful than any other category”, due to winemakers’ creative marketing tactics. He believes Port has become more upmarket, with value increasingly prioritised over volume; something “other fortified wines haven’t managed to do with the same success.”
Douro-based Port house, Symington Family Estates, is one producer rolling out innovative marketing to draw in new consumers. In 2024, its Cockburn’s brand got a striking new look, with illustrations by artist, Song Kang, that showcase playful vignettes from its 200-year-old history. Off the back of this fresh design, Symington said the company gained new listings, and is now available to purchase in Tescos, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. “This doesn’t happen overnight, but we feel we’re on the right path to balance doing both things well; respecting that past and our core consumer base,” Charlotte Symington, Symington head of marketing, told the drinks business.
Market differences
Whether Port has an image problem “depends who you talk to,” she added. In the UK for instance, she believes most people have some kind of relationship to Port, which is a popular pick at Christmas time. “We want to preserve that heritage, those more formal moments where Port comes out, but also to innovate,” she added. “We definitely have a long way to go, but we’re on the right track in bringing people into the category.”
Pushing tourism has also helped: On 21 September, Symington launched Matriarca in central Porto, a Port-themed townhouse consisting of a wine bar, cellar, academy and restaurant, designed to show tourists just how versatile the fortified wine can be. While the category still has a “long way to go” in revamping its image, Symington said: “We have come so far in quite a short space of time, in the last eight to 10 years, which has been amazing.”
Churchill co-CEO Ben Himowitz agreed that Port has an image problem, but he also said it depends on the market. “In the UK, there are lots of residual connotations with older generations,” for example. “There’s lots of cultural baggage that comes with Port that the category needs to work through.”
‘Something fundamentally fun’
“It can be seen as stuffy and older,” he added. “But I always say, that’s completely true, until someone has a glass of Port in front of them, and then everyone loves Port. There’s something fundamentally fun about Port. It’s universally accessible, it tastes delicious, it’s a high quality wine. It’s not something people are going to have a strong negative reaction to.”
Himowitz added that Port’s “indulgence” appeals to what punters are seeking today – with data showing that consumers are drinking less, but picking premium options when they do. “Our question as an industry is, ‘how do we tap into that element?’” he queried. Churchill’s tries to engage with the fun of the fortified wine through direct-to-consumer service Port Club, promising wine enthusiasts “special offers, one-off lots and insider-only drops”, according to its website, which also reads: “We’re tired of hearing what wine should be in today’s world. So, we’re taking a stand.”
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“One of the things we always say is, ‘no one doesn’t like the person who brings the Port.’” explained Himowitz. “So, there is that residual perception problem, but also, there’re a lot of crypto-Port enthusiasts who just need the right moment to choose to opt in.”
Slow progress
But, George Sandeman, consultant at Sogrape, believes most people still consider Port as “a little stuffy and old fashioned… something their grandma drank”. He said: “That’s made it more difficult to transition from the old fashioned image to a newer, younger image. We’ve been working on it for some time. Curiously, it’s beginning to have results, but it’s not there yet.”
If you go out for dinner in the UK, and someone serves Port at the end of the meal, he fears they’ll still get teased for “being fancy or showing off”.
Kit Weaver, who’s among the third gen of owners pioneering Port house Quinta de la Rosa in Portugal, also thinks there’s the lingering sense that Port is something your grandparents would drink. Though, he added, this is an idea “slowly being shaken off”.
“A move towards the Tawny category is an indication that people are moving past this view and are discovering a different side to Port,” he told db, with the RTD White Port & Tonic renaissance also helping bring in a new market. “Though I’m sure it will change in time and will be rediscovered. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have shared a glass of Port with someone who claims to not be a fan, yet they love it saying, ‘I didn’t know that port was like this’”.
Education and new packaging
“Sadly this is part of the issue, most people experience poor quality or poorly stored Port, which has been left open way past its use-by-date, and rarely try a good example,” he continued.
At Quinta de la Rosa, education and fresh packaging have been key ways to shift the perception of Port. Weaver explained: “We need those people who appreciate wine to champion port in order for it to be a driver of true change. It often feels forgotten that part of my job is to remind sommeliers that Port exists and that people do enjoy a glass of Port.”
In terms of packaging, the team adopted a new, smaller 50cl bottle design around 20 years ago, in collaboration with Harvey Nichols, and has also partnered with Danish hip hop band Suspekt (“who are massive Port fans”), to refresh the image of its fortified wine.
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