The essence of the FERREIRA brand is the pledge with the deepest values of “being Portuguese”, a bond with the land, the passion and sophistication that come from simplicity.
• At the FERREIRA cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia lies what is probably the largest and best collection of ports from the 19th and 20th centuries, the oldest wine dating back to 1815.
• The Dona Antónia Prize (set up by her descendants and by FERREIRA in 1988) annually distinguishes a Portuguese female figure that stands out through her enterprising spirit and business organisation and management skills, qualities recognised in Dona Antónia.
• In a tragic “barco rabelo” accident, Dona Antónia floated in the Douro and was saved by her ample dress.
• Vintage 1834 – a famous Vintage, a very fine one, one of the best from the 19th century. This wine was the protagonist of a dramatic but fascinating episode. In 1897 the Swedish explorer Auguste Andrée, along with two companions, decided to cross the North Pole in a hot-air balloon. On 14th July the balloon fell in the Arctic. It is known from their diaries that they were still alive on 27th September, the day when they prepared themselves a treat in a floating piece of ice. The main dish was seal and seagull breast, but the treat’s highest point will have been a bottle of “D. Antónia Ferreira” Vintage 1834 that had been offered to them by the king of Sweden.
• FERREIRA wines have gained gold medals at times and places as diverse as The Philadelphia International Exhibition (USA, 1876) and the Paris Universal Exhibition (France, 1900) or the recent and prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (Belgium, 2003) and International Wine Challenge (UK, 2003) and International Wine & Spirits Competition (UK 2004).
• The FERREIRA porto from the 1851 harvest proved to be an excellent and very fine wine and was recognised as the “Great Exhibition Vintage”. Michael Broadbent (Master of Wine) tasted it in 1975 and considered it “the most magnificent old port I have ever drunk”. Broadbent also regards Ferreira Duque de Bragança 20 Year-Old as his preferred everyday wine.
• FERREIRA was the first Porto Wine brand to cease bulk sales.
• FERREIRA was the first brand to present a “Reserva” category, with the Dona Antónia port, and is the clear market leader in the category.
• FERREIRA'S logo is an emu, an elegant bird that never walks backwards.
• The historical television serial “A Ferreirinha”, produced for the Portuguese television station RTP in 2004, was based on the life of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, as well as on the unequalled heritage that she bequeathed to Portugal, the Douro and Porto Wine.
