Symington’s head cooper awarded Medal of Honour

Emílio Oliveira, head cooper at Symington Family Estates, has been awarded a rare Medal of Honour by the city of Vila Nova de Gaia in a ceremony held to mark a lifetime’s contribution to Port.

Senhor Emílio, head cooper at Symington Family Estates

Historically, the Medal of Honour is given to people in business, sports, and the arts; never before to the traditional manual crafts related to the Port industry.

Symington proposed that Oliveira, who has 50 years of experience working in the Symington cooperage, should be honoured in some way and the idea was embraced by the Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia.

“Sr Emílio and his team are crucial to the quality of our tawny Ports and we are very proud that Sr Emílio has been recognised in this way”, said Paul Symington, co-director of Symington Family Estates. “His dedication and passion for his craft is unrivalled.”