Casa Ermelinda Freitas

Family business with prestige

The Casa Ermelinda Freitas winery is located south of Lisbon on the Setúbal Peninsula in the village of Fernando Pó. The fourth generation family business, with Leonor Freitas at the helm, has made a prestigious and respected name for itself as a wine producer.

Tradition and modernity

Wine producer Ermelinda Freitas grew up in Portugal's "Terras do Sado" region, which, despite its close proximity to Lisbon, only awoke from a kind of slumber after the construction of the famous "Vasco da Gama" bridge, which also applies to winegrowing. Together with her husband, her entire life and passion was devoted to the production of first-class wines. After the death of her husband, however, her only daughter, Leonor Freitas, continues the work of her parents. Wine production under their own label first began in 1997, when they invested in a new winery and bottling process, well equipped to produce the best red wine in the region.

Jaime Quendera

Jaime Quendera is a new generation enologist. He grew up in the Palmela wine region and continues the family tradition in the famous wine region. He received his degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Évora, and his PhD in Wine Marketing from the Catholic University of Porto. Jaime Quendera's wines are continuously awarded prizes and recognitions in international wine competitions, such as the Vinalies Internationales Paris, Concour Mondial de Bruxelles, International Wine & Spirits Competition, Les Citadelles du Vin Bordeaux, Wine & Spirit Asia Challenge, etc.

Best influences for best wines

The vineyards belonging to Casa Ermelinda Freitas are located in Fernando Pó, a privileged area in Palmela. This region has a special soil and climate that produces wines of different styles. The climate is Mediterranean (300 hrs of sunshine /month), characterized by intense summer heat (average temperature 22◦C) and cool damp cold winters (average temperature 10◦C). The vineyards of Casa Ermelinda Freitas cover an area of 240 ha, of which 160 ha are planted with the Castelão variety, also known in this area as "Periquita". Of the remaining area, 40 hectares are covered with red varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Syrah, Aragonês, Alicante Bouschet and Petit Verdot, and finally 10 hectares with white grape varieties such as Fernão Pires, Chardonnay, Arinto, Verdelho and Moscatel de Setúbal.