When the heavens opened on the harvest in the Douro this September, the sense of frustration was almost as uncomfortable as the persistent rain that was causing it. For the first half of the harvest it had been smiles all round, with high-quality grapes tempting the promise of a vintage declaration. Apparently, some great wines have been made with those grapes. But then, as Taylor’s winemaker David Guimaraens, put it, it went from being the best of years to the worst of years.

If you translate that into sporting parlance, it was a game of two halves, and that may be an equally apt way to describe the state of the port market today. The sector is desperate to attract younger consumers but in many areas it remains saddled with its image as an old-fashioned drink for old-fashioned people.  

“Port has this crusty image and we are trying to show people it’s not like that,” says Adrian Bridge, CEO of the Fladgate Partnership, which owns the Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft brands.

Port volume has been dropping off for the past 10 years, with Bridge estimating the sector has lost about 10% of its volume during that time. 

Real Companhia Velha CEO Pedro Silva Reis says much of the decline can be explained by the pressures facing Europe’s discounting sector. “In central Europe the hard discount sector, which was very trendy with huge growth, is now under pressure and the discounters are getting more sophisticated and introducing ports and better quality products. Some of the decline in big supermarkets has seen people going back to local shops and upgrading their selection. It seems as though people are spending a bit more.” 

And Sogrape’s George Sandeman agrees: “Port, like all mature categories, may be softening in mature markets but there is increased interest is in the special categories (reserve, LBV, aged tawnies, and special releases) as shown in the UK and the US, where more than 55% of port purchased is a special category.

“In the more mature European markets for standard ports, such as Belgium and Holland, the category is having a hard time and there can be no doubt that the focus on maintaining volume supported by pricing has devalued the consumer image of port, and caused reputable brands to reduce category investment.”

Other factors are aligning to affect the future of port, says Sandeman – and they’re not issues to be taken lightly.

“With rising farming and production costs, it is not sustainable to continue along the path of volume, and the need to reposition the value of port must be paramount, bringing smaller volumes but greater value and image for the category.

“However, there needs to be a balance between the smaller, very premium and expensive ports and the more accessible ports in order to maintain scale for the category – but the days of low prices and high volume are numbered.”

This thought is echoed by other producers, who remain upbeat about the turnaround, saying they are seeing gains in value balancing out losses in volume. 

It’s certainly a positive trend as far as Bridge is concerned. He sees no future in chasing volumes when the speciality categories  – in particular, aged tawnies – offer so much promise. “People are discovering there are new styles which are high quality and interesting.” 

He says this is being driven by the on-trade and, in particular, restaurants, which points to another trend in the category – that of the use of food as marketing leverage.

For example, Porto Cruz launched a campaign in France, Tapas & Ports by Cruz, inviting people to pair different styles of port with tapas, while Noval has been working with chocolatiers in various countries. “You can reach younger, medium and older people because everyone likes chocolate,” says Noval export sales director, Xavier Sanchez.

But the real driving force for port at the moment is perhaps the most unexpected and the least orthodox – traditionalists may want to look away at this point – the serving of port in cocktails, over-ice and mixed as long drinks.

“In Mexico young people seem to be interested in port we are actively promoting port on the rocks. That’s unorthodox, but without ice whisky wouldn’t be where it is today. We have to be open-minded,” says Reis.

And Sandeman agrees: “It is key to show consumers that port can be part of their everyday drink selection by demonstrating ways in which it can be enjoyed, and more importantly ‘empowering’ them to do it.

“We’re telling consumers how to enjoy port by expanding usage in food matching, cocktails (in the US), chilled, aperitif, dessert… we need to speak to consumers in the language they understand and highlight that port is an exciting category with lots of flavour and diversity.

“We have no problem with the way people drink Sandeman port – chilled, iced, mixed or in cocktails – if at the end of the day they enjoy it.”

So it looks like producers are determined to engage new consumers at the expense of their traditional core base, and nowhere has this been highlighted more than with recent innovations such as Croft Pink, Cruz Pink and Noval Black, both representing new styles and both attempting to appeal to a younger, trendy consumer.

Croft Pink has been successfully playing into the increasing popularity of rosé wines, while Cruz Pink and Noval Black have been seeding themselves in the nightclub and cocktail bar scenes of some countries – a far cry from the gentlemen’s clubs many still associate with port.

Between a ruby and a reserve LBV, Black, says Sanchez, is being blended by mixologists with vodka or pineapple juice. And again, it’s the “opposite of our philosophy” – but it’s encouraging consumption and finding new fans for port.

Sanchez adds: “We launched Black five years ago and I think in the next five years we will find it in bars and shops, such as Waitrose in the UK or Monoprix in France. Black is a very modern style – not traditional – and the price is quite inexpensive. It’s between red wine and port.”

Cocktail focus

And cocktails have been a focus for Real Companhia Velha, with Reis pointing to the introduction of a Portuguese version of the Brazilian Caipirinha – the Caipi Royal, made with Royal Oporto white port, lemon and pineapple.

So, consumption trends may be starting to move along, but can the same be said of port’s global spread? Certainly new markets are opening up – particularly those with Portuguese affiliations, such as Angola and Brazil – but Asia, widely expected to embrace port, has proved a tough nut to crack, even for a beautifully almondy aged tawny.

Reis ponders: “Asia is a bit disappointing because, so far, no one has managed to make progress. We made a lot of effort in China. They like red and sweet so with the combination of the two things why don’t they work?”

He’s not alone in scratching his head. George Sandeman thinks Asia has ‘potential’ but adds: “It will require thought. One of the things that’s been said about port in the Asian market is that the prices should be a lot higher. It’s a lot to do with wine’s image. There are millions of people in Asia, of which a percentage know about wine, and a pecentage know very little. A lot of people drink from what the perceived image is.”

And Sanchez adds his thoughts: “There’s no culture for port in China. They are drinking a lot of red wines and cognac but not port. I think in the next 10 years it can work very well – for example, in 1987 the culture for red wine was not very strong but now it is. We are working on developing the category over there, but we are selling port and education. 

“In China rich people buy vintages because they are rare but the main markets buy red wines from the Douro and entry-level ports. They have no interest in vintage.”

Russia is looking like an emerging market, with Sandeman saying it has been growing by two digits a year and Porto Cruz excited about its prospects.

The company’s Prat says: “We have great expectations in Russia. Cruz was the first brand to invest on this market and to list different qualities of Ports. We are still investing on this market. This year, we launched a big masterclass plan to educate consumers about ports. 

“We strongly believe this category has a promising future but this future depends heavily on the educational programme.”

But it’s the mature markets that need some massaging right now, encouraging them to trade up to the speciality tiers. And, certainly as far as Bridge’s portfolio is concerned, this is already happening. “Aged tawnies are growing around the world, especially in the US. There’s 8.5% MAT growth for 10-year-old and 10.5% for 20-year-old Taylor’s.”

It’s the special ports that are taking the limelight right now – and could well represent the future for a sector that’s finally attracting new consumers.