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IF YOU WERE LOOKING to invent a drink for today’s consumers, fortified wines such as port and sherry would probably be thrown out at the preliminary stage of NPD.

They’re made with hard-to-harvest, obscure grape varieties, which are made even more alcoholic by fortifying with grape spirit. Then there is the high-cost, long-term ageing. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the big drinks companies, looking for quick rates of return on shareholders’ investments, pulled out of the Douro and Jerez years ago, leaving them to the specialists.

While sherry continues to decline, having lost its niche as a traditional aperitif, for port it is essentially a case of treading water (rather than the grapes in lagares) – not particularly declining, not particularly growing, but a case of ‘steady as she goes’.

While the traditional shippers and producers are still wedded to declaring vintages in an exceptional year and making vintage ports, they are aware that there is a young audience out there, the dreaded millennials who are often looking for lower-alcohol, if not no-alcohol, drinks, preferably long and sweeter (tick port box for sweet). The wine bubble has burst (cross in port box), the cutting-edge drinks market is all about craft, as in beer, spirits and cocktails.

Anthony Symington, brand manager for port at Symington Family Estate’s UK distributor, John E Fells, tells Drinks International: “We have an incredibly loyal base of consumers for our brands, particularly for Cockburn’s, which remains the UK’s most popular port brand. But we recognise the need to deseasonalise the market and attract new/younger consumers. We have therefore embarked on a programme of presenting port in a more contemporary way – for example, long drinks such as white port and tonic and cocktails – to a younger audience using new initiatives and collaborations.”

Symington, which also owns Graham’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, declared the 2016 vintage back in the summer and claims demand has been high.

To back this up, Farr Vintners director Tom Hudson says: “The 2016 vintage port declaration has been well received by our private customers, with several of the wines, including Graham’s and Dow’s, selling out immediately.

“The outstanding quality of the 2016 wines and sensible price levels have proved attractive to buyers at a time when many have passed on buying the very full-priced 2017 Bordeaux en primeurs.”

So, all is far from lost for port, in general.

Sogrape’s Sandeman and Offley brands also declared 2016 a vintage. Winemaker Luis Sottomayor says: “As soon as the grapes arrived at our Quinta do Seixo winery, we knew this was the best we had seen since the last declaration in 2011. “The quality after fermentation left us in no doubt that we would be declaring 2016 as a vintage year.”

When it comes to NPD, it is now 10 years since the Fladgate Partnership, which owns Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft, introduced Croft Pink to try to entice younger drinkers, and particularly women, to port. It would be a stretch to describe pink/rosé port as a roaring success with kids clamouring to get more, but it showed that the producers, when deliberating over vintages, are thinking about the ages of future drinkers as well as the long-term ageing of their wines.

Port, particularly white port, and tonic is probably a better path to follow, particularly bearing in mind the incredible current interest in gin and tonic.

Andrew Hawes, managing director of Mentzendorff, says: “We will continue to focus on the development of Taylor’s Chip Dry white port, emphasising its mixability with different styles of quality tonic water, something that the consumer has grown accustomed to via the boom in gin.

“We are also planning further initiatives inspired by the rich history and traditions of port,” says Hawes.

Symington rejoins: “Over the summer white port experienced a renaissance, becoming the ‘drink of the moment’, growing hugely in popularity. Sales of Cockburn’s until July 18 of this year were up by 351% compared to the same period last year, while Graham’s grew by 113% over the same period.”

There are also the lighter tawny ports, which can be served chilled and could hold appeal for more discerning young palates looking for something more sophisticated to be seen sipping. Symington points out that tawny ports have shown an extraordinary increase in demand since 2010, with worldwide sales of these wines having grown by €21.3m over the past seven years (Port Wine Institute total world sales 2010-2017).

Here comes the plug: “The Symington family holds what is almost certainly the largest stock of port ageing in seasoned oak wood in existence, amounting to 16,855 casks, and the equivalent of a further 29,370 casks held in larger oak tonels and vats,” claims Symington.

Constance Descamps, international senior brand manager for La Martiniquaise brand Porto Cruz, tells DI: “We can’t really talk about innovation in port. The novelty is more in the experience, in the way we can enjoy it differently, and it’s what we did with our Cruz Fresco campaign.

“This campaign – modern and original – has been done in mature Cruz markets such as Portugal, France and Belgium. Through the ‘fresco consumption’ we want to promote a new way to enjoy port, chilled on the rocks with a slice of citrus.

“It’s a way to taste port differently, should it be tawny, ruby, pink or white. It is fresh, fruity, with lower alcohol and really easy to make on your own – a nice opportunity to recruit new consumers,” she says.

LAYING DOWN

With the tradition, mainly among the upper and middle classes (socio economic/demographic ABC1s) and predominately in the UK and US, of laying down vintage port for their children’s coming of age, port is ideal for long-term cellaring and fetches staggering prices at auction – in particular Taylor’s, which is The Macallan of port.

With that in mind, the major players have seen the opportunity of global travel retail with limited editions and anniversary expressions to attract the attentions of affluent travellers, particularly from Asia.

Taylor’s, with claims to be one of the oldest a port houses – it celebrated its 325th anniversary in 2017 – has created an exclusive blend released in a limited-edition bottle that is said to recreate a historic bottle shape from the first half of the 18th century.

Taylor’s managing director Adrian Bridge says: “This launch is a tribute to the long and rich history of port as well as continuing our long-standing tradition of innovation. We set out to create a unique blend presented in bespoke, collectible and limited-availability packaging designed to appeal to both existing and new port consumers.’

Not one to rest on his laurels, Bridge has also unveiled a 430th anniversary celebration edition of Croft, which is said to commemorate the port house’s establishment in 1588 and the “rich history of the oldest port company in operation”.

The Symingtons are no slouches on this front. Symington reports its Graham’s 20 Year Old was up 33% on a year-to-date basis, which he says is down to the clear glass bottle and adds that 4.5-litre formats are raising its profile in bars, providing “visibility and theatre when served”.

Descamps says: “The port category is really well adapted to the duty free market and with Porto Cruz we have strong ambitions to continue developing this channel. In fact, we are already present, for instance, in duty free in Porto, Lisbon and Kuala Lumpur with some dedicated offers such as a miniature set of 37.5cl bottles. Duty free also represents a nice opportunity to value our port expertise through premium references such as Gran Cruz aged port, Colheitas or Vintages.”

THE FUTURE FOR PORT

Symington says the future is: “Very positive. Port exports, particularly at the premium end, are very healthy. Quality has never been as high as it currently is. We have just finished one of the most successful vintage port en primeur campaigns of all time. We declared our 2016 vintage ports in April this year and we were entirely sold out by the end of July.

“Coupled to this vintage port is performing very well on the secondary market. For example, Dow’s 2011 vintage port was trading on the secondary market (Livex) at £450 per case in 2013 (declaration year) and is now at £1,500 per case.

“Additionally we are working hard to bring port to a wider market, introducing younger drinkers to this incredibly varied drink, ranging from white port and fine tawny which can be mixed with tonics or cocktails, through to LBV, aged tawnies and, of course, vintage ports. There is something for all palates and appetites within the category which no other style of wine can offer,” concludes Symington.

The UK is a premium port market, so, from a British perspective, Hawes says: “I feel it is a mistake to describe a reliably strong Christmas sales performance as a ‘curse’. It is more a core strength that can be built upon. What it means is that port penetrates a very high proportion of all UK households over the festive period, either as a purchase or being received as a gift.

“Perhaps the underlying issue is that port remains an impulse purchase for most of the rest of the year, Our challenge is to extend its usage repertoire and this can be done. For example, Taylor’s LBV is perhaps the perfect pairing with dark chocolate. A lightly chilled aged tawny is perfect with a summer barbecue. A white port & tonic is a refreshing and lower alcohol alternative to a G&T,” Hawes says.

Descamps sums up: “We are conscious that we have to take care of people’s affinities. Mature markets such as France, Portugal and Germany are used to drinking tawny ports, whereas the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK are more used to consuming ruby ports. Some countries are more familiar with classic references, as in France or Belgium, whereas in the US, Canada or Denmark they are used to enjoying premium-to-rare ports.

“Already renowned as an aperitif or an after-dinner drink, port can be as well appreciated for tasting or in a cocktail, in food pairing. The tourist boom in Portugal also represents a positive aspect that makes us confident in our choices,” concludes Descamps.