Episode 154: Port & Adrian Bridge, CEO, The Fladgate 
Partnership
A super special episode in which we were charmed and educated by the CEO of the Fladgate Partnership, Adrian Bridge. Adrian is the brains behind Taylor’s, Fonseca, and Croft Port brands, and we were fortunate to have him share some valuable information about enjoying Port, as well as travel tidbits about the region.
Adrian Bridge, CEO, The Fladgate Partnership
This week we are chuffed to bits to chat about Port, Portugal, the vineyards, and even cocktails with Taylor Fladgate CEO (The Fladgate Partnership) Adrian Bridge! We hope you enjoy our time with him as much as we did.
Bio (Provided by Wagstaff Worldwide)
Living the wine in Port (1:00)
We dive right in, with Adrian sharing his experiences living in the town of Porto. But he also gives a digestible overview of the Douro Valley’s growing region, climate, and why this is important to the Port industry. We learn also that more producers are, in fact, storing their wines at the quintas, closer to where the wine is being made. This is leaving the lodges or warehouses open for tourism and tasting.
He also confirms that the “Douro Bake,” or over madeirized or baked style, has more or less been a choice over the years. Furthermore, it’s not a desired style of the Fladgate Group.
Brand history (5:30)
The three main brands are Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, and their oldest company, Croft. Fonseca, founded in 1815, is the “youngest” company under the partnership. Croft was founded in 1588, the year of the Armada, but was acquired by the Fladgate Group in 2001. Taylor’s, founded in 1692 by an Englishman, was the original company of course. Adrian regales us with the Taylor’s history, in which we hear about their first vineyard acquisition that is still part of the company to this day!
Old vines & vintage wines (11:30)
Inquiring about the 2015 vintage, we were off on a learning adventure that expanded on our vintage versus single quinta vintage discussion from last week’s episode (Episode 153: A Port Primer). What we also learned about here were some more details on Quinta de Vargellas, the flagship vineyard, as well as a little insight into how many vines produce enough grapes for one bottle of Port. You may be surprised.
Adrian also broke down the house styles of Taylor’s, Fonseca, and Croft about 15 minutes in. This was a delightful nugget of information that we happy to learn as well.
Here’s a link to the Taylor’s web feature on Quinta de Vargellas.
Think pink? Having a new kind of Port fun (20:19)
Beyond the vintage and classic styles, Adrian explains his idea to create a rose’ style of the fortified wine. It began in 2005, and was released in 2008 under the Croft brand. We think you’ll fully appreciate Adrian’s insistence to the Port regulator that rose’ styles should exist. “Well don’t be silly, here it is!” he exclaimed, showing the bottle.
By applying for an application to trademark the Croft Pink Port he was successful in not only bringing the new category to market, but in the innovation of cocktails. This was a part of the interview that absolutely delighted us, particularly when he told us about the “slush puppies” and the Jimmy Kimmel Oscar after party cocktails that also made great use of the Port.
Visit (27:00)
In this part of the interview we learn about the history of the Barco Rabelo (flat bottomed boats) which are now used primarily for tourism. Adrian’s genuine love for Porto, Portugal and its history, people, culture, and architecture slips through the Skype connection and pulls us further in. We guarantee by the end of this episode you’ll be booking your next vacation, or at the very least seeking out a bottle of Port.
Finally, you won’t want to miss Adrian’s embarrassing wine story (35 minutes in) that involved, coincidentally, David Sandeman. And David’s mothers rose bushes.
More Information
Shoutouts (38:50)
Thank you to Adrian Bridge for taking time to elucidate us even further about Port, its history, and regional gems.
Many thanks also to Victoria Domenico from Wagstaff Worldwide for putting us together with Adrian. FYI – she’s one impressive PR Goddess (with a capital G, of course).
Patreon Love (39:32)
Thank you to our Patrons who support us on the crowdfunding platform called Patreon!
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Connect: (31:32)
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