Of Scottish, English and Portuguese descent, since 1882 the Symington family has produced Port and Douro DOC wines, being the owners of the largest rural estate in the region – 26 items, total 2,420 hectares, two quais 1,114 vinhas.

Owner of Porto homes such as Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, and several Douro projects (Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta do Ataíde, Altano, Prats & Symington – Chryseia), Symington Family Estates has recently made its internationalization debut, acquiring properties to Hambledon Vineyard, which is one of the two main producers of English sparkling wine and the oldest commercial wine in England.

“This is the first acquisition by a Portuguese producer of a British sparkling wine company and also represents the Symington family’s first wine production project outside Portugal,” the group, based in Vila Nova de Gaia, said in a statement.

Symington acquired Hambledon Vineyard along with Berry Bros. & Rudd, another multigenerational family in the wine sector, with a public takeover bid put together “with oil by 90% of the two British producers’ shareholders”, so that Our partners can now move forward with the acquisition of 100% of Hambledon.

“This is a 50%/50% partnership bringing together two secular companies in the wine world, Symington Family Estates and Berry Bros. & Rudd, the UK’s oldest wine and spirits merchant and distributor which celebrates its 325th anniversary this year. º aniversário “, the royal or Portuguese group, which, like its counterpart, also holds the alvará de supply (Royal Warrant) to the British Royal House.

The joint acquisition “reflects growing confidence in the dynamic category of English sparkling wines and their future potential,” Symington said.

The property is located in the far south of England, in the county of Hampshire

The group headed by Johnny Symington recounts that Hambledon “was the first commercial vinha planted in England, in 1952 (with the help of Pol Roger, the famous Champagne house), a property, located in the far south of England in the county of Hampshire, tem “When This 80 hectare vinha is cultivated in a single limestone rock, identical to the Grand Cru Côtes des Blancs in the Champagne region of northern France.”

These are “two small sparkling wine producers in the UK with the capacity to produce over 500,000 bottles of sparkling wine per year from their own production – 100% lime alone,” he emphasizes.

Regarding Symington’s first international acquisition, Johnny said that “it will be something very special” for the group to “produce wine in our country, after five generations in Portugal in the production of port and other wines.”

“After carefully analyzing the two English sparkling wine categories, we are excited to proceed with the purchase of one of the two major producers, in partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd,” emphasized the president of Symington Family Estates.

“Classic Champagne grapes are grown exclusively on limestone only”

Johnny Symington guarantees that “The quality of the wines is truly outstanding and the Hambledon ‘terroir’ is fantastic, with classic Champagne grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay) cultivated exclusively on single limestone.”

The property, located in the south of England near the English Channel, “also benefits from a very favorable microclimate”, asserting that “here we have a world-class sparkling wine that will play an important role in the global assertion of English sparkling wine as the wine of the world. ” -class wine.”remade”.

On the other hand, the president of Berry Bros & Rudd enthusiastically celebrated the operation: “We are delighted to be able to confirm this exciting partnership with Symington Family Estates. We are committed to viticulture and wine production and we value the company, which is the UK’s first commercial producer in the modern era has the potential to lead the UK sparkling wine category,” said Lizzy Rudd.

“We are two family businesses who have worked together for many years and have a long friendship. We share the same values ​​and philosophy and we are very proud of this partnership which will bring stability and growth to the business in a very good way. positive setting for British sparkling wine”, concluded the Berry Bros & Rudd leader.