Celebrating 325 years of history on the high seas

To mark Taylor’s 325th anniversary, the Port house has joined forces with single-handed yachtsman and a sea ambassador, Ricardo Diniz, to re-enact Taylor’s first shipment of Port. As in the past, a cask of Port will be loaded onto the boat at the quayside of the River Douro close to the Taylors’s lodges and from there, shipped to London.

In 1692, an important chapter in the history of Port began. Job Bearsley, an English merchant, travelled to Portugal to venture into the wine business, founding the company we now know as Taylor's. Today, it is one of the oldest and most renowned Port producers, and its Ports are considered amongst the finest in the world.
Adrian Bridge, Managing Director of Taylor's, comments: "Our history is often the history of Port itself, because in 325 years we have always been in the front line. We have pioneered new categories of Port, introduced sustainable viticulture, developed leading-edge viniculture whilst preserving traditional practices and opened challenging paths for markets that are now fundamental to the wine business. Port is one of the great classics in the wine world today, partly due to Taylor’s tireless work throughout generations”.

Ricardo Diniz, a Portuguese single-handed yachtsman, promises to bring the history and Taylor's Port to life. At the age of 40 and a leading ambassador of Portuguese culture across borders, he did not hesitate to accept this challenge. Ricardo comments: "This is not just a special moment for Taylor's. This is an important part of Port and Portugal’s history and something I am proud to represent and share.”

Recreating the history of that first Taylor’s shipment of Port to London, a cask of Port will be shipped from the quayside in front of Taylor's Port cellars, in Vila Nova de Gaia. The cask will carry a limited edition of a specially blended Port to celebrate the anniversary. The boat will unload its important cargo on the banks of the River Thames. There will be a celebratory private event held at the Tower of London. Then as today, England still is the main market for Port’s special categories.

This historical voyage recreation will be done in a yacht built in 1991 and named #Taylor325, that has just been fully restored and is proudly sponsored by Taylor’s.
Following his voyage to England, Ricardo will compete in the challenging OSTAR 2017 (Original Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race). Sailing from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, he will cross the Atlantic Ocean in a voyage of approximately 21 days. This will be the first time a Portuguese yachtsman will compete in the race, which was inaugurated in 1960 and is held every four years.

Adrian Bridge adds: "This partnership resulted quite naturally as it unities land and sea, history and future, built on shared values as determination, courage and resilience, all essential attributes for both single-handed navigation and producing and selling Ports. And, it is with great pride that Taylor’s supports the first Portuguese yachtsman to take part in OSTAR, on the year of our 325th birthday.”