Graham's

W. & J. Graham & C:a

The firm of W. & J. Graham & Co has its roots in a Glasgow-based textile concern. During the early nineteenth century an office of this trading company was established in Oporto. In 1820 the brothers William and John Graham, who were then managing the office, accepted 27 pipes of Port wine in settlement of a bad debt. This Port was shipped to the parent company in Glasgow which initially reprimanded the brothers for not sending cash. Fortunately however, after it was sold the Port turned out to be very popular and soon William and John were being urged by their parent company to acquire and ship more of this finest of fortified wines. Within the next few years Graham's reputation grew as a shipper of fine Port, first to Scotland and gradually all over the Port drinking world. By the late 18th century Graham's was firmly established as a prominent Port shipper. The Scottish connection remained, as it does today, an important feature in the company's identity. In 1882 Andrew James Symington, a young Scot whose family was well known to the Grahams, took up a position with Graham's in Oporto. Although after a few years he left the company to join another Port shipping business, the firm of W. & J. Graham was acquired by the Symington family, his descendants, in 1970.

Graham's owns the Quinta dos Malvedos at Tua in the Upper Douro valley. It is one of the most famous vineyards in the Douro and marked already on Forrester’s map. It was plated at the end of the 18th century and sold 1849 to Justino Ferreira Pinto Basto (a son of the famous founder of Vista Alegre), whose family curiously enough is related to Paul Symington. Graham bought the quinta in 1890.

Quinta da Vila Vehla belong private to the Symington family.

Quinta do Vale de Malhadas. This quinta is owned by three of the younger Symington partners and was acquired in 1999.

Quinta das Lages. This estate, one of the largest and finest in the Rio Torto Valley, is leased by Graham’s from a family who has sold their grapes to the company for over a century. It was bought in 1886 by Dr. Baltazar Augusto Ribeiro an ancestor to the present owners.

This is a list of vintages:

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