Portuguese evening at Birmingham’s finest hotel with guest of honour Ant Symington of the renowned port and wine dynasty
Hotel du Vin Birmingham refuses be complacent. Despite consistently delivering high standards across the board of core metrics – food, wine, service, ambience – general manager Arron Wincott continues to dream up new ways to push the boundaries.
His recent port dinner, in partnership with Graham’s & Symington Family Estates, one of Hotel du Vin Birmingham’s key partners, is one such example.
It was a year in the planning to get the diary of the guest of honour, Ant Symington, to align with the busy schedule at Birmingham’s finest hotel and bistro. He flew in from his home in Porto, Portugal, especially.
As his surname suggests, Ant is a member of the Symington port and wine-making dynasty whose fifth-generation business, Symington Family Estates, is headquartered in Porto, close to the glorious Douro Valley, where it has farmed its vines for the past 130 years.
Each family member must work outside the Symington firm for at least 10 years
Ant is deputy head of sales. Like other members of the Symington household, he had to earn this role. Before they can be hired within the family firm, each family member is expected to work outside the company for a minimum of 10 years, and even then Symington-surnamed applicants are not guaranteed a berth.
“One of my cousins applied for a role and was told, ‘You’re not ready yet,’ so she went and worked in Switzerland for two years before trying again. She now works for the family business,” says Ant.
As that anecdote converys, the focus of Symington Family Estates is, first and foremost, on quality, most notably the quality of the port and wine its brands – including Graham’s, Dow’s Warre’s and Cockburn’s – produce.
Passionate about the craft
“We would rather produce 1,000 bottles a year of something excellent than mass-produce something average just to make money,” explains Ant, who has a rare knack of being able to speak off-the-cuff to 30 dinner guests in a way that educates and entertains in equal measure.
The Symington dynasty’s obsession with quality is mirrored by that of Hotel du Vin, underpinning their strong bond.
“These kinds of evenings are not about driving profits. They’re about creating memorable experiences for our customers which showcase what we and our partners can do,” says Wincott.
Port flight, anyone?
His long-planned port dinner does not disappoint, beginning with a white port (yes, it’s a thing – try it) and tonic as an aperitif before scallops paired with the 2024 vintage of Contacto Alvarinho white wine by Mendes & Symington. Cod Romesco follows, paired with Quinta da Fonte Souto’s Branco 2023 white.
A fillet of beef, cooked to perfection, is accompanied by Post Scriptum de Chryseia 2023, from Prats & Sympton’s Douro Valley vineyard, and Symington’s 2021 Pombal do Vesuvio.
But this is a port dinner. So where’s the port? Fear not. Four of the finest ports accompany dessert – a delightful chocolate and sour cherry mousse – and a platter of cheeses.
Graham’s Six-Grape Port, fresh and fruity, combines exquisitely with the mousse, before the finale: Each guest is served, in three separate glasses, a “port flight” (yes, I know, you thought that was just a beer thing – think again) – three generous pours of Graham’s Tawny Port 10-year-old, 20-year-old and 30-year-old.
No-one can agree on which port is best
Which vintage of port is best becomes an impassioned topic of debate on which no unanimous conclusion is reached.
To experience this kind of evening, scan the Hotel du Vin Birmingham website and move fast because, you won’t be surprised to learn, spaces for these kinds of events go quickly.
More about Symington Family Estates
Symington Family Estates is a leading premium port and Portuguese wine producer. They are the largest organic vineyard farmers in the north of Portugal. It is committed to pioneering sustainable innovation.
In 2019 it became the first wine company in Portugal to become a certified B Corporation, commited to the highest standards of ethical business, social and environmental practices.
Symington partners Rewilding Portugal, which is implementing ambitious large-scale conservation and rewilding initiatives on a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor in the greater Côa Valley in northern Portugal.
