Ricardo Melo is recovering Quinta da Ermegeira, a historic place and full of stories since the 16th century.
Ricardo grew up in Brazil, where he was exposed to Portuguese wines from an early age. Over time, through tasting and travel, he got to know and appreciate the diversity of terroirs and grapes that define Portugal’s wine landscape. After some time traveling through Europe, he settled in London, where he was surprised to find that most restaurant lists had a very small or nonexistent selection of Portuguese wines. Later, this fact motivated him to look for producers in Portugal that produced wine naturally, but on a small scale. Eventually, it was a greater motivation that led him to move to the interior of Portugal, in order to produce his own style of wines. The final objective was to produce wines naturally without the use of synthetic chemicals or sulfites, in the rich and discreet region of Torres Vedras, on the outskirts of Lisbon.
The passion for natural wines is a consequence of the last few years in London, tasting and meeting incredible producers. The decision to settle in the Lisbon region was due to the strong oceanic influence of the region, with persistent cold winds, hot and dry days and the result of fresh wines with low alcohol content and strong minerality. Ultimately, the goal is to seek authentic Portuguese wines, almost unknown to the world, to bring diversity of flavors and minimal intervention to shake the natural wine scene.
Ricardo made a close partnership at Quinta da Ermegeira with José Augusto Fasolo, winemaker in Brazil (Dominio Vicari). Together, in the cellar, they produce wines free of any synthetic, organic chemicals, with biodynamic procedures and without sulfites. 100% grapes from Torres Vedras terroir, where they work with Castelão, Alicante Bouschet and Tinta Roriz for reds and Arinto, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc for whites.
