Graham's Port Wine

Until 1820, Graham's traded in textiles. However, a customer was unable to pay his overdue bill to the company's branch in Porto, and the company was therefore forced to accept 27 barrels (casks) of port wine as payment. However, the wine sold so successfully that the company was even encouraged to repeat the trade. Graham's quickly built up a good reputation within port wine, and by the end of the 19th century it was not only one of the largest shippers, but also one of the most recognized. In 1882, the young Scotsman, Andrew James Symington, was employed, but after a few years he moved on to the world of port wine. However, when Graham's ran into financial problems in 1970 and thus needed a capital injection, Symington's grandchildren took the opportunity to buy the house. Today, the Symington family has a very central position within port wine, as they now own a number of the best houses. Robert Parker also had the following comment on Graham's: "The most consistent producer of great port in the post world war 2 era".