Family business Cockburn's embraces the 1970s
It’s all change at popular port Cockburn’s. Not only has a new family – the Symingtons – recently taken the helm at the 196-year-old brand, “significant improvements” have also been made to the taste of Cockburn’s port.
But lovers of the drink need not worry – the new owners of the family business aren’t about to change it entirely. In fact, they’re looking to the past to boost its future.
"We are committed to reviving the fortunes of this iconic port brand by restoring the quality that was the hallmark of its heyday,” said Paul Symington, joint managing director of Symington Family Estates.
The first port of call is a new bottle design for Cockburn's Special Reserve, based on the brand’s earlier efforts and featuring rounded shoulders and a long, generous neck.
"Cockburn's is well remembered by many for its iconic bottle design, so we have based this work on the much-loved Cockburn's classic original of the 1970s," added Symington.
The family behind the port house, which was set up by Scotsman Robert Cockburn in 1815, sold the business in 1962 to Harvey’s of Bristol. But in 2010, when Symington Family Estates purchased the brand, Cockburn’s reverted to family ownership after an interlude of 48 years.
