Croft

Croft, port shipper with a particularly long history. Its precursor Phayre and Bradley was established in 1678. The first Croft, from York, became a partner in 1736 and the company was known as Croft and Co from 1769. In 1911 the firm was taken over by Gilbey’s, and the majority shareholding eventually passed into the hands of the multinational corporation Grand Metropolitan, subsequently an integral part of diageo. Port shipper Morgan Brothers was acquired in 1952.

Croft expanded into the sherry business in the difficult era of the early 1970s. Croft invaded Jerez with energy and one novel idea: they launched an entirely new style of sherry, Pale cream, which could offer the beguiling combination of a pale, sophisticated appearance with the reassuring sweetness of a cream. It was an enormous and much-imitated success, necessitating almost immediate expansion for Croft Jerez, in the form a series of ultra-modern bodegas known as Rancho Croft. Croft’s Jerez adventure ended in 2001, when diageo sold the bodegas to gonzález byass for 54 million euros. Some of its best old soleras were acquired by a new, quality-minded company, Tradición.