British port
Sir: In your Taylor's Port competition (27 January) the claim is made that Taylor's is the only independently owned British firm of port shippers left. This is not true. My family have been port producers and ship- pers in Oporto and the Douro since 1882 and we own and run the firms of Warre's (the first and oldest British firm), Gra- ham's and Dow's ports.
There are currently seven members of our family producing port and those of us actually working in the three firms own and control the company. The ownership and experience have been passed directly from father to son for over a century and
'That's Beethoven's ninth — any minute now he'll start singing.'
through four generations. This is unique amongst the British port houses.
There is also a third independent British port firm that was founded here as recently as 1980.
I shall now enter the Taylor's competi- tion and try and win a few bottles of port off our friendly rivals to make them pay for their erroneous claim!
Paul D. Symington
Director,
Symington Port Shippers, Travessa Barao de Forrester, Apartado 26
4401 Vila Nova de Gaia Codex, Portugal
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