Founded in 1920 by Deonilde Freitas, and continued by Germana Freitas and later by Ermelinda Freitas, the company has always had a special interest in wine. On the early death of her husband, Manuel João de Freitas, Ermelinda took on the running of the company. In this she was helped by her only child, her daughter Leonor, who although untrained in the art of wine making, took charge of the company, consolidating the already firmly female profile of the existing management structure.
The company has, from its very beginnings, made the quality of its vineyards and wines a top priority. When the company first started, wines were produced and sold wholesale and unbranded. It was the current management that decided to take on the challenge that is involved in creating an own brand wine. 1997 was the year of the company’s new beginning in wine making, with red wine “Terras do Pó tinto”, being the first to be produced and bottled on the premises of the Ermelinda Freitas winery.
Leonor Freitas inherited 60 ha of vineyard made up of just two grape varieties, Castelão and Fernão Pires, located in Fernando Pó in the region of Palmela. Seeking to innovate and make improvements, she took the decision to introduce a much wider range of grape varieties, which included Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional, Aragonês, Syrah, and Alicante Bouschet, amongst others.
Ermelinda Freitas currently owns 440 hectares of vineyard, 60% of them planted with the Castelão variety (known in the area of Palmela as “Periquita”), 30% red varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Syrah, Aragonês, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Franca, Merlot and Petit Verdot, and 10% of white varieties such as Fernão Pires, Chardonnay, Arinto, Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc and Moscatel de Setúbal.
This is an extraordinary location for producing wines, and some of the best wines of this region are in fact produced here.
Casa Ermelinda Freitas is constantly seeking to provide high quality from a family that has a long tradition related to vineyards and wine production. They are currently preparing for an even greater expansion by investing in new infrastructures and equipment in order to adapt their facilities to be part of an important tourist route in the “Rota dos Vinhos” circuit. Leonor Freitas aspires that Casa de Ermelinda Freitas will be a valuable asset for the tourism and economy of the Palmela Region; a pedagogic symbol of the region, providing schools with the secular wine culture and history. The winery, equipped with the latest technology, presents a symbol between the modern and the traditional, integrating a wide variety of structural areas such as a production area, a cellar (where the wine ages in French or American oak barrels) and a bottling line.
Quality has always been a driving force for the company: “We do not invest merely to increase production; we invest in quality – that is our main goal”, Leonor Freitas often points out. Testifying to this statement is the fact that this wine producer has won several awards in international contests with the main brands: Terras do Pó, Dona Ermelinda and Quinta da Mimosa.
Good to know
- Email: geral@ermelindafreitas.pt
- Phone: +351 265 988 000
- Address: Rua Manuel João de Freitas – Fernando Pó 2965-595 Águas de Moura – Portugal
