PORTUGAL – Symington Family Estates, a Portuguese wine company, and Port wine house has expanded to the Portuguese sparkling wine business through the acquisition of shares in Caves Transmontanas, producers of Vértice sparkling wine.
Symington said it has recognized that there is a high potential for appreciation and reputational gain in the Portuguese sparkling category, which has sparked the momentum to take up the deal.
With this deal, presented as “a happy meeting of wills between Symington, the TMG Group, and Michael de Mello,” the Symington family assumes, through a capital increase, a 50% stake in Caves Transmontanas.
The acquisition, of which the value was not disclosed, will allow the creation of the necessary financial support to promote the expansion of Symington’s business and investment in assets that allow it to continue on a path of excellence.
Under the agreement, Celso Pereira, the winemaker responsible for the production of Caves Transmontanas, takes a seat on the new Management Board, ensuring the continuity of the independent management of this business.
The Symington family, of Scottish, English, and Portuguese descent, has been producing Port since 1882, currently including Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s, and Warre’s in its portfolio, but also has other projects in the Douro.
Its wines brands include Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta do Ataíde, Altano and Prats & Symington (Chryseia).
Totally, the company has 26 farms and 2,420 hectares of land in the oldest demarcated region in the world, 1,114 of which are vineyards and 130 have organic certification.
According to ViniPortugal, exports of Portuguese wines increased by 2.48% in value and 4.07% in average price, between January and March 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, having exceeded 212 million euros.
The figures show that Canada (+32.02%), Angola (+46.27%), and Switzerland (+11.71%) are the countries that stand out in terms of import growth of Portuguese wine.
Those destined for the community market (European block) registered a drop in volume (-4.80%) and in value (-3.00%), but had an increase in the average price of (+1.89%).
President of ViniPortugal, Frederico Falcão explained that Portugal continues to present quality wines in foreign markets, a fact that has allowed it to increase the average price, with the first quarter having grown by 4.07% in average price.
In line with the Interprofessional Association of the Portuguese Wine Industry’s strategy to increase value, Falcão was pleased to see the incredible resilience of the sector during this economic crisis.
He also added that the excellence of national production which innovates year after year has demonstrated its determination to sell good national wine across borders.
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