My eye immediately saw an article in the Dundee Courier in February 1926 about the Sandeman connected to the Port Empire. Having clicked on it, I saw that my 6 x great grandfather, William Sandeman of Luncarty, was mentioned. Seems he had a brother George who had a son, George Sandeman (1765 - 1841), and amazingly, I am related to the man who founded Sandeman Port !
What else can I tell you about George ? Well, he was born in Perth, Scotland in 1755 and, at the age of 35, "in 1790, left Perth in Scotland for the City of London, and began trading in port from a somewhat disreputable establishment called Tom's Coffee House (in Birchin Lane, Cornhill) ....... He is reputed to have been the first person to ship a vintage port in 1791, and a few years later, he extended his activities to shipping sherry. He was known as 'Old Cauliflower Ears' because of his eccentric appearance and protruding ears". He shipped port from both Spain and Portugal so spent much of his time travelling. He borrowed £300 from his father in order to rent his first wine cellar. As it turned out, this was an opportune time to trade in wines as France, previously a large exporter of wines, was out of favor with a number of European countries due to their imperialistic tendencies and the rise of Napoleon.
With his older brother, David George Sandeman, he grew the business from modest beginnings. David was based in Perth and George in London. The partnership broke amicably in 1798 when David went his own way and founded the Commercial Bank of Scotland.
In 1797 he was granted the Freedom of Perth. He died in Brussels in 1841.
Source of quotation : Andrew Jones, The Aperitif Companion 1998