The Douro Wine Region

The Douro valley, the world's first demarcated wine region, is located in the northern interior upstream on the Douro River. Protected by the relief, factors such as topography, climate and soil define a unique terroir for wine production. It consists of three sub-regions: Baixo-Corgo, Cima-Corgo and the Douro Superior. In 2001, UNESCO inscribed the Alto Douro wine region in the list of World Heritage Sites as a cultural landscape.

The introduction of vineyards and wine production in the Douro valley dates back to the occupation of the Iberian peninsula by the Roman Empire during the 3rd century AD.

Since the 18th century, its reference product, Port Wine, has become known worldwide for its quality and uniqueness. Although table wines have always been produced in the Douro region, only in the second half of the 20th century did they gain prominence and due recognition.

The ancestral tradition of wine production and the strength and perseverance of the inhabitants shaped this territory resulting in a unique and magnificent cultural landscape. The traditional terrace vineyards supported by stone walls (shale), today coexist with plantations on sloped levels and vineyards at the top, representing a technological, social and economic evolution that has made possible the mechanization of processes, maintaining the landscape character of one of the most beautiful agricultural regions of the world. The coherent and integrative nature of these transformations allowed the new morphological and functional characteristics to compromise neither the landscape nor the agricultural potential of the region.