Douro

Douro Valley is the traditional home of port, but now it is fast developing into a good wine region in Portugal for light wines. With the large amount of money from World Bank, more than 6280 ha of vineyards had been replanted. Quality of life had improved for the growers and labor there, making the production of cheap port not economical nowadays.

It is one of the most improbable places for men to grow vines, with steep slopes of schist which is flaking and unstable, very hot summer and malaria. But the vine is one of the few plants that can survive in this harsh environment. With terraces developed and walls to stabilize and retaining the rainwater, vines flourished since the 17^th century in this location.

Now many of the old stone-walled terraces were replaced by patamares supported by banks of schist, which allow mechanization but with a reduced density. If the elevation allows, growers also now planting rows up the slope to allow for easier mechanization and denser planting. It also offers more homogeneity.

The Douro reaches Portugal from Spain in Upper Douro, or Douro Superior. This is the driest and most continental climate. In the west, the Serra do Marao stops the Atlantic rain clouds from refreshing Cima Corgo, the heart of port production. Baixo Corgo, further west, is the wettest, coolest climate where the cheapest port is produced.

The best port is conventionally recognized to come from Pinhao. Depending on orientation and altitudes the characters of wine produced can be quite different. Each vineyard is classified from A to F according to natural advantages of altitude, location, soil, yield, inclination and orientation, and the age, density, training and varieties of vine grown. The higher the classification the more expensive will be the grapes. Traditionally little is known on the jumble of vines grown but now Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cao and Tinta Barroca are regarded as the most suitable for top-quality port. For white port, Viozhinho, Gouveio, Malvasia and Rabigato are the best grapes.

The famous shipping firms have their own quinta up the hills. There is also a rise of single quinta ports (products coming from a single estate in a single year, typically not quite fine for be generally declared a vintage). The grapes are mainly not from the big estates but still small farmers, but more and more of them are selling under their own quintas.

Table wines have also been emerging from Douro. Traditionally it was made from grapes left over from port but now many producers are planting vineyards specifically for table wines. Many cooperation with Bordelais also see to that. It is interesting to see how this region is producing two different sorts of wine.