Antónia Adelaide Ferreira ( Godim,

Peso da Régua :''Regua leads here. For American major general, see Eldon Regua'' Peso da Régua (), commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2011 was 17,131 (of which approximately 10,000 a ...

, June 4, 1811 — Godim,

, March 26, 1896), often referred to in Portugal as "Ferreirinha", was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

. She is known for leadership in the cultivation of

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...

and for the winemaking innovations she introduced to Portugal.

Life

Ferreira began her career in the wine industry when she inherited many vineyards from her wealthy family. Her father arranged for her to marry a cousin, but he was uninterested in the family business and wasted a large part of her fortune. The marriage produced two children: a daughter, Maria de Assunção, later known as the Countess of Azambuja, and one son, António Bernardo Ferreira. She was widowed at age 33, at which point she began to exercise her role as executive of the family estates. Ferreira received her nickname, ''Ferreirinha'' (an affectionate

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of her name in Portuguese), for her devotion and care for the working families who farmed her lands and vineyards. She was supported in her business efforts by her administrator José da Silva Torres, who eventually became her second husband. Ferreira fought against the lack of support for local viticulture in the Portuguese government; during the time much Portuguese wine was imported from Spain. She also fought against the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...

pestilence which eventually destroyed much of European grapes, including those in Portugal and her own vineyards. Ferreira traveled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to learn the most modern and efficacious techniques to battle the disease and import them back to Portugal; she also learned and imported new processes for wine production. The ''Ferreirinha'' invested in many new vineyards, especially in areas with large exposure to sunlight, although she maintained the original vineyards she had inherited in northern Portugal. Most of her wine was exported to England, the first major importer of port wine. When she died in 1896, Ferreira left behind a large fortune and near thirty vineyards. She is considered one of the leaders in the history of the

Douro valley The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro () is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the ''Comunidade Urbana do Douro'', created in 2004. It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. D ...

and an influence in to the continued popularity and success of

Portuguese wines Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans (wine), Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer ...

, surviving through the

blight of the late 19th century. In 2004 a Portuguese television series provided a fictional re-enactment of her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira, Antonia 1811 births 1896 deaths 19th-century Portuguese businesspeople 19th-century Portuguese women People from Peso da Régua Portuguese women in business Portuguese winemakers Port wine 19th-century businesswomen