The History of Croft

The merchant company that we know today as Croft was founded in 1588 during Elizabeth I’s reign by Henry Thompson of York, England.

The origins of the Port trade can be traced back to the 17th century, when the wars with France deprived the British and the Dutch of French wines and they were forced to find a new supply. The first recorded shipment of Vinho do Porto (Port) was in 1678, when Croft was known as Phayre, Bradley & Thompson.

At this time, the trading names of the Port Houses changed frequently as new partner joined and older ones left or died. The Croft family can be traced back 700 years and first became involved with Port wine shipping through their connection with a distinguished family of merchants, the Thompsons of York. The Thompsons had been trading in Portugal since 1660 and when Thomas Croft married Frances, daughter of Sir Stephen Thompson, it was only natural that the two families should combine their business interests in the wine trade.

The first John Croft one of five grandsons from this union to enter the Port trade joined the Port shippers in 1736 when the house traded as Tilden, Thompson & Croft. Although John Croft remained a bachelor, his younger brother had five sons, all of whom entered in the Port wine trade and several went to went to live in Portugal. Thomas Croft, their fourth son, joined the partnership just three years after the Port wine district had been demarcated by the Marquis de Pombal, the then Prime Minister of Portugal. The Douro is in fact the oldest demarcated region in the world.

Thomas Croft's eldest son, the second John Croft, was born in 1732 and was to become the most famous personality in the house. The great-nephew of the first member of the Croft family to join the Port wine trade, John Croft travelled regularly between York, where he was Sheriff for quite some time, and Oporto. He was a member of the British Factors, who built the historic Factory House in 1790 and which still stands today. In 1788, his treatise on the Wines of Portugal was published and this placed the Croft family at the forefront of the British community based in Oporto.

John Croft's Treatise has a great historical value as it gives valuable insight into the early days of the Port Wine Trade. When British shippers first started to buying and selling Port it was not a fortified wine but actually a heavyweight wine that was probably no more than 12% alcohol by volume. There is no exact date for when Port became fortified to help stabilise the wine on its long journey to Britain. There were monasteries in the Douro, mentioned by John Croft, that were adding the brandy earlier on in the fermentation process, producing an off dry port. These slightly sweeter Port wines became popular in Britain and prompt growers to begin adding the brandy earlier in the fermentation process. Until the sweet Port wine that we know now finally evolved by the mid- 18th century.

By 1827, Croft & Co. had become the fourth largest Port wine shipper. One hundred years later, they were occupying the number one position. The house of Croft enjoys a major reputation for its Vintage ports in particular and acquired Quinta de Roeda in 1875 when John Fladgate's daughter married Charles Wright, Croft's representative in Oporto. The Croft 1945 is legendary in the trade for it quality and recent vintages have also been winning praise from the critics, with the Wine Spectator rating the Croft 1994 Vintage amongst the top Port wines of the Vintage.

Dates:
	1588	The House of Croft originates from the merchant company of York, founded by Henry Thompson.
	1678	The House of Croft was founded by two partners Phayre and Bradley.
	1736	John Croft come from England to join the Port trade when the house traded as Tilden, Thompson & Croft.
	1757	The Portuguese prime minister, the Marques de Pombal, created the first demarcated wine region in the world.
	1844	Croft & Co acquired Quinta da Roeda from John Fladgate, who was a prominent member of the Port wine trade.
	1945	Croft produced its legendary vintage port.
	2001	Croft was sold to Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca.

Croft And Delaforce Acquisition

The Taylor Fonseca group purchased the Port Wine interests of CD Vintners, owners of Port producers Croft and Delaforce from Guiness UDV.

Taylor Fonseca is an independent family owned group controlled and by its current Chairman Alistair Robertson. Its principal activity and main focus is the production of premium wood aged and vintage Port Wine through its subsidiaries, Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman, one of the longest established and most prestigious Port producers, and Fonseca Guimaraens, also one of the most respected specialist Port houses. The group owns several of the best known wine estates in the Douro Valley -- including the famous Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta do Panascal -totalling over 290 hectares of A-classified vineyard. It also has interests in tourism and catering.

This acquisition gives Taylor Fonseca exclusive ownership of the Delaforce brand and the company's Port stocks and premises in Vila Nova de Gaia. The group also acquires the wine stocks, production facilities and vineyards of the Croft Port company as well as the rights to the Croft brand for the marketing of Port worldwide.

The approach to Guiness UDV to acquire its fortified wine interests was made jointly by Taylor Fonseca and by the leading independent Sherry producer Gonzalez Byass. Under the terms of the purchase Gonzalez Byass acquires the Croft Sherry business assets in Jerez, Spain. The right to market brandy under the Croft brand will be retained by Guiness UDV.

Taylor Fonseca Chairman, Alistair Robertson commented:

"The acquisition of these two classic Port producers -- Croft and Delaforce -- represents a significant step forward for our company as it enters the fourth century of its history. It is particularly fitting that it brings together two of the oldest and most famous of the original Port houses, Taylor and Croft, both over three centuries old.

"It also restores a historical link between our company and the Quinta da Ro_da estate which was owned for many years by John Fladgate, Baron of Ro_da, a partner of Taylor's and grandfather of two partners of the Fonseca company.

"We look forward to the challenge and enjoyment of developing these two great houses in the years to come."

Although the Croft and Delaforce Port businesses will come under the same group management as the existing Taylor Fonseca companies they will retain their own distinctive style and identity. As Group Managing Director Adrian Bridge put it:

"As independent family producers we understand the importance of preserving the unique heritage and character of the different Port houses within our group. Just as Taylor and Fonseca have each maintained their individual identities and traditions we intend to respect the distinctive style and personality of Croft and Delaforce to ensure that the Port consumer continues to be given a genuine choice.

"We look forward to acquiring the skill and knowledge that members of the Croft and Delaforce teams will add to our own three centuries of experience in the production of fine Ports."

"The acquisition of Croft and Delaforce affirms our confidence in the healthy future of quality Port. We believe that wine consumers will continue to value the tradition and integrity of the great classic names. As a result of the alliance of these four great houses -- Taylor, Fonseca, Croft and Delaforce -- we will be uniquely well placed to offer the consumer the finest ports at every level in a choice of distinctive and individual styles."

The Croft US Portfolio
The Croft house has a distinctive "British'' style. The style leans towards the riper fruit, slightly sweeter side of the flavour spectrum.
Barrel Aged Ports		Bottle Aged Ports
Croft Distinction Croft Late Bottled Vintage Croft Fine Ruby Croft Fine Tawny		Croft Quinta Da Roeda Vintage Ports Croft Vintage Ports