Managing Director and Chairman
Adrian Bridge
Adrian Bridge was born in a fine year for Vintage Port (1963) and educated at The Oratory School, Berkshire. In 1983, he attended The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he won the “Sword of Honour”, an award given to the top Officer Cadet of the year.
In 1984, Adrian was commissioned into the British Army and joined The 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards. During his time with the Army, he served in several countries, also spending a year with the United Nations in Cyprus which included a period as the aide-de-camp to the deputy commander of the peacekeeping force.
In 1988, Adrian joined Merrill Lynch’s London Office. In 1989 he moved to County NatWest Investment Bank to work on the US equity desk. By 1993 he was made head of the US Equity sales team and appointed a director of NatWest Securities USA.
In May 1994, Adrian moved to Portugal to become the next generation in a family wine company that stretches back to 1692. He initially managed the USA and UK markets before taking responsibility for the company in 1998 and formally becoming CEO in January 2000. Adrian has led the growth of the business organically and through acquisition. The Fladgate Partnership (TFP), is a leader in quality Port worldwide (brands include Taylor’s Port, Fonseca Port and Croft Port) and has won many awards. In 2003 it was named European Wine Company of the Year. It has more 100 point wines than any other wine group in the world. In 2008, the company won the prestigious BES Biodiversity Award for its work on environmental issues in the vineyards – this was the first time that the award had ever been given to a private company.
Although the group is primarily focused on quality Port production it has expanded into tourism and distribution. Adrian was the visionary behind the construction of a five-star hotel, The Yeatman, in the historic centre of Porto which has won recognition both nationally and internationally and has help to put Porto on the tourist map. For this he was personally awarded the Gold Medal of Honour from the Mayor. The group also has the Vintage House Hotel in the Douro Valley. A new hotel, The Bearsley, is due to begin construction in Spring of 2024. It will be the first carbon neutral hotel in Portugal and will be a sister property to The Yeatman set in gardens along the edge of the river Douro in the very heart of the city.
Inaugurated in 2020, Adrian’s major project in wine tourism, World of Wine, The Cultural District, located in the historic centre of Vila Nova de Gaia. It was built in renovated Port Wine cellars; a project that was classified as Project of National Interest (PIN). WOW celebrates the culture, gastronomy, history and industries of Portugal and includes a total of seven museums, twelve restaurants, cafés, retail shops, a Wine School, an exhibition space and various event spaces.
Adrian started an initiative on Climate Change Leadership with the first summit in July 2018 to launch the Porto Protocol with speakers that included President Obama. In March 2019 the second event: Climate Change Leadership – Solutions for the Wine Industry, included Al Gore as a speaker and had delegates from 44 countries. A second documentary entitled “Seeding the Future” was released in 2024 with members of the Porto Protocol, sharing how Climate Change is impacting them, how they are tackling it overall and solutions being implemented. The Porto Protocol is a charitable foundation financed by Taylor’s Port and led by Adrian. It has members in 20 countries on 5 continents.
In August 2023, Adrian led the company into the still wine business for the very first time. Fladgate Still & Sparkling Wines, the new company, aims to make iconic wines in several wine regions of Portugal.
Adrian still finds time to enjoy hobbies such as cycling, mountaineering, watercolours and continuing to build his collection of drinking vessels from the last 9,000 years which can be seen at WOW in the gallery exhibit “The Bridge Collection”. He is active in charity fundraising and has provided long term leadership to The Royal British Region Porto Branch.
Adrian is married to Natasha Bridge and they have 3 children.