History

The winery was established in 1920 by Leonilde Freitas, continued by his granddaughter, Germana Freitas, and later by his great-granddaughter, Ermelinda Freitas, to whom Casa Ermelinda Freitas owes its name. With the premature death of her husband, Manuel João de Freitas, Ermelinda Freitas continued to manage the company with her only daughter, Leonor Freitas, who took command and consolidated the tradition of having women running the company.

From its inception and until 1997, the wines produced were sold unbranded and in bulk. With the arrival of Leonor Freitas in that year, everything changed, the wines began to be bottled and the first brand of red wine, “Terras do Pó”, appeared. Since 2002, all wine produced has been sold under the brands created and developed by Casa Ermelinda Freitas. The success of the winery, and its concern with social issues, led the then President of the Republic, His Excellency Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to decorate Leonor Freitas with the commendation of the order of merit for agriculture, trade and industry in 2009.

Setúbal

This property, located in the Setúbal Peninsula Region, home of Casa Ermelinda Freitas, and with the same denomination, is located at one end of the village of Fernando Pó, 25 kilometres to the east of Setúbal, and is clearly visible from a distance due to the imposing presence of the new winery, which rises from the sea of vineyards on the surrounding plain. Casa Ermelinda Freitas as we know it today results from courageous and difficult life choices made by its managing partner, Leonor de Freitas, aged 38.

1920

The history of the house dates back to at least 1920, when Leonilde de Freitas worked the estates. The business was continued by his daughter, Germana de Freitas, and later by his son, Manuel João de Freitas Junior, Leonor’s father, together with his wife, Ermelinda. His premature death led Leonor to have to choose between selling the properties, which at that time boasted 60 hectares, and abandoning her career as a Senior Technician with the National Health Service. In due time, she opted for the second choice, becoming a successful businesswoman who has greatly contributed to the prosperity of the local and national economy through the company’s growing volume of exports.

1992

It is worth mentioning that the markedly matriarchal nature of this family business has ensured its continuity, through the commitment and dynamism of her young daughter, Joana, who already forms a key part of its structure and development strategy. At that time, in 1992, the vineyard area consisted of 55 hectares of Castelão (known locally as Periquita) and 5 hectares of Fernão Pires, the typical grape varieties of the region. After five years, she believed that the conditions were in place to start bottling a selected part of the harvest, and launched 8,000 bottles of the Terras do Pó brand onto the market, on a trial basis, in 1997. In 1999, confident in the commercial results achieved, the company launched the Dona Ermelinda and Quinta da Mimosa brands, which consolidated and reinforced the investment in the production of bottled wines. In 2001, the top of the range Leo d’Honor was launched, produced from the old Castelão vineyards, which proved a great success with critics and in the market.

2002

From 2002, now with 100 hectares of vineyards, it was decided that all the wine produced should be bottled, the winery was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and a great step was taken towards Casa Ermelinda Freitas reaching its current size and prestige.

The area of vineyards continued to expand, and today stands at a total of 315 hectares. It should be noted that this figure does not include small-scale producers in the area, who through grape purchasing agreements and technical support, add around 300 hectares to the company’s own vineyards.

The monopoly of the above-mentioned traditional castes Castelão and Fernão Pires has given way to a diverse range of varieties. Among red grape varieties there are now Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Trincadeira, Aragonês, Syrah, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Among white wines, there are Moscatel de Setúbal, Arinto, Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

8 million bottles

Currently, more than 6 million bottles are produced and there is capacity for the fermentation of 10 million litres in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. More than 35% of production is exported to Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, China, Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, with a strong focus on the United Kingdom and United States of America. The main commercial brands are:

Setúbal Peninsula Region

Dom Campos, Terras do Pó, Casa Ermelinda Freitas.

DO Palmela

Dona Ermelinda, Quinta da Mimosa, Leo d’Honor, Casa Ermelinda Freitas Espumante

DO Setúbal

Casa Ermelinda Freitas Moscatel de Setúbal