“The quality of our wines has earned an excellent reputation among consumers.”

At the beginning of its activity, our company focused its efforts on the production of bottled wine. New marketing concepts were introduced in the Madeira wine business, or innovative packaging such as the stuffed canteen. The quality of our wines has earned an excellent reputation among consumers, which has helped to build a strong image of the Barbeito brand in different markets.

Over time, in the seventies, our company became involved in the business of selling wine in bulk. This involvement caused many changes in the daily operation of the company, due to excessive production growth.

Competition between exporters involved in the bulk wine business was fierce and many small companies like ours had to struggle to stay in business profitably.

During the 1980s, we were realizing that our involvement in bulk wine exports was detracting from the quality of the wine that was bottled.

In 1991, with the completion of the joint-venture with the Kinoshita family, with whom we have had commercial and friendly relations since 1967, and with the entry of Ricardo Freitas into the company, the decision was taken that would change the company’s future : abandon the bulk wine business. This decision allowed us to refocus our efforts on producing quality wine. It was like a return to the past, where our grandfather only wanted to produce and sell good wine, even if in small quantities. In 1991 there was yet another important change in Barbeito Wines: for the first time wine production became the responsibility of a family member. In 1993, after 2 years of apprenticeship, Ricardo Freitas faced his first harvest alone. Looking to the future, the constitution of a work team was started, in which all its members work under the same motto: producing quality wines with their own style.

From that period onwards, we have increasingly fostered a closer relationship with the winegrower. In our perspective, this was the fundamental basis for being able to acquire the best quality grapes. With each passing year, our proximity to the winegrower is increasing.