A 25-year-old son of a Scottish prosperous cabinetmaker asked his father to borrow a loan of £300 to set up a wine merchant in London. This ambitious young man was George Sandeman, the founder of Sandeman, who ended up establishing one of the world’s leading Port and Sherry wine businesses. From early on Sandeman specialised in these two great Iberian fortified wines and following an unusual practice in those days. More than 230 years later, an average of 21 bottles of Sandeman are bought every minute in more than 75 countries.
At a time when ‘brands names’ were unheard of and wines were shipped in barrels not in bottles, Sandeman literally started to ‘brand’ the wood casks with its initials – GSC (George Sandeman & Co) using a hot iron to give the wine pioneering ‘signature’ that guaranteed its quality and origin.
George Sandeman travelled extensively in Spain and Portugal, where he decided to purchase lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia for the storage of the Port Wines before shipment. His perfect choice was a beautiful, arcaded building on the Duro riverfront across from the city of Oporto.
By 1825 the company was trading to several countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. In 1835, Sandeman Port shipments amounted to 4,580 pipes, about 12% of the total and ‘no other shipper ever approached this figure’.
In early 19th century the word ‘Tawny’ still lacked today’s recognition but, by mid-1800s, Sandeman already clearly identified and shipped ‘fine old tawny port’. Ever since, the superior expertise and the vast stocks of old wines kept in ideal conditions in these cellars are the source of Sandeman Aged Tawny Ports.
The Sandeman schooner ‘Hoopoe’ – an elegant 75 ft vessel- was built in 1865 and operated by the company for 10 years. The ‘Hoopoe’ was sold by Sandeman to Charles Coverley & Co. in 1875 and unfortunately, lost in the English Channel 3 years later.
The drift of wars in the south of Spain disturbed Sandeman Sherry business in the early years, however with Sherry sales recovering, other high-quality producers were selected, namely Julian Pemartin in 1822. The long relationship lasted several decades until 1879 when they dissolved and, supporting the growing business, Sandeman acquired all Pemartin’s assets.
Always focusing on defending the reputation and identity of its wines, Sandeman was one of the first wine brands to label and advertise its wines.
Sandeman iconic image – ‘The Don’ was created in 1928 by George Massiot-Brown. According to the Sandeman legend, the geezer on the logo is a caped man named Don (enigmatically) and the cape and clobber is a Portuguese student’s cape and wide Spanish hat. This fits in with the tradition of students carousing around Porto, basically on the lash.
English Lakes were close to completion of their new hotel, Lancaster House Hotel. All that remained to be decided was a fitting name for the hotels bar. Whilst returning home from a holiday in Jarez, Spain, English Lakes Hotels Operations Director, Douglas Dale, was sat behind a man, whom after enquiring into Mr Dale’s occupation, was very interested to find out Lancaster House was being built. This man was David Sandeman, at the time the Managing Director of Sandeman. Mr Sandeman was delighted with the idea of naming our bar after his company and graciously accepted the offer to come and open Sandeman bar and brought with him the posters and Sandeman memorabilia that are still on display today.
Lancaster House was opened 12th July 1991 and was officially opened by Princess Alexandra on 14th December 1991.
Established in 1979, Lakeland Vintners are a supplier of wines, spirits, beers and soft drinks to the hotel and restaurant industry.
'Based in the Lake District, we are well placed to supply our customers from Carlisle down to Preston, with a wide range of quality wines.'
‘We pride ourselves on working with small, often family-owned producers, so we can hand select our wines. We have traded with Lakeland Vinters since the late 70’s'
Sandeman:
The company was founded in 1790 by George Sandeman, and today, his descendent another George Sandeman manages the brand. We have traded with Sandeman since the 90’s.
Sandeman Port wines, including Ruby, White, and Tawny Ports, are made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley of Portugal. Specifically, the grapes are sourced from vineyard sites within the Douro Valley, including the Cima Corgo sub-region. The city of Porto is not precisely in the Douro wine region, but near it and that is where historically commercialization and bolt transportations were held of the Fortified Port Wine – which justifies its name.
Celebrating Sandeman’s multi-generational expertise, they released just one cask ‘Sandeman Cask 33, Very old Tawny Port’ from a fantastic collection of 40 casks, laid down in the early 1960s. The rich history of the brand also inspired the ‘Sandeman 225th Anniversary Collection’, a 6-bottle set of 2000 Vintage Ports, which celebrates the people, the vision and the stories of Sandeman.
The Sandeman Bar at Lancaster House Hotel offers a range of light meals and pub classics are served throughout the day in the bar and lounge areas. On warmer days, the outdoor seating area makes for enjoyable al fresco dining.
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