Warres

THE STORY 

The history of the Warre family in Portugal dates back to William Warre, who was born in India in 1706, where his parents and grandparents were long-established members of the East India Company. In 1729, he arrived in Portugal and became a partner in the export company, Messrs. Clark, Thornton & Warre, which exported Portuguese wine among other goods. By the close of the 18th century, Warre’s had become one of the leading companies in the Port wine trade. His grandson, another William Warre, continued and grew the business while also maintaining an outstanding military career, contributing substantially towards the recovery of Portugal’s independence. The Symington family’s ancestry in the Port trade spans a period of over 350 years, through 13 generations. They are descended from Andrew James Symington and Beatrice Atkinson who were married in Oporto in 1891. Andrew James arrived as a young man from Scotland in 1882, was admitted to partnership in the firm of Warre & Co. in 1905, and in 1908 he became the soul owner of Warre & Co. Currently six members of the Symington family (five from the 13th generation in the Port trade) are actively involved in Warre’s day-to-day management, with the dedication and long-term commitment that are unique to a family-run business. From the vineyards through the winemaking, aging, and blending, a member of the family is directly responsible for every bottle of Warre’s Port produced. The family’s commitment to its wines is stronger than ever after 350 years, an unparalleled tradition in the Port trade.

THE WINEMAKING 

While the majority of Port is now made with modern methods using state-of-the-art vinification technology, a small proportion is still produced by the time-honored method of treading. In either system, fermentations are relatively short (about two days) because Port is a fortified wine. Fortification, which involves the addition of natural grape spirit to the fermenting juice, intentionally interrupts the fermentation process at a point when approximately half of the grapes’ natural sugar has been converted into alcohol. This accounts for Port’s characteristic rich, luscious style and also contributes to the wine’s considerable aging potential. Given the short fermentation cycle, it is crucial to extract as much flavor, color, and tannins as possible from the grape skins. Warre’s continues to make some of its Port by treading in stone lagares (shallow treading tanks). The Upper Douro is one of the last places in the world where traditional treading has been maintained. This is not done to entertain visitors but quite simply because it continues to produce some of the best Ports. However, the old lagares require manpower, an increasingly scarce resource in the Upper Douro and temperature control is difficult. In order to address these problems, Warre’s winemaking team developed the world’s first purpose built automated treading machine. The introduction of Warre’s automatic lagares has proven to be a landmark in winemaking in the Douro Valley.

SUSTAINABILITY 

The Symington Family is committed to sustainability and in 2019 passed the rigorous certification process to become a B Corporation, where they join a global community of for-profit companies assessed for the highest standards of social and environmental performance and ethical business practices. They also have a comprehensive sustainability strategy, Mission 2025, with ambitious initiatives and objectives aimed at contributing to the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the regions where they work. In 2019, they were named “Ethical Company of the Year” at The Drinks Business Green Awards.