Secondly; several people from across the globe are arguing that Douro is the world’s most beautiful wine-growing area.

Thirdly, three of first four wines in the Wine Spectator’s 2014 top 100 ranking which includes the Number 1 spot are from this region.

Now, some wine critics have started to call this as the world’s greatest wine region as well. What other reasons do we need to call Douro as the king of Portugal wines?

Now, let’s have a look at the viticulture and viniculture in the Portugal’s most important wine region here…

We can find several man-made contours here and the beauty of the region is enhanced by the steep, stone-walled vine terraces which have been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Here, the vines are found to be planted in poor schistous soils. When it comes to climate, the region is protected from the strong influences of the Atlantic Ocean by the mountains of Marão and Montemuro.

Therefore, the region is experiencing a Mediterranean type of climate with hot dry summers and cold winters.

Sub-Regions of Douro

The Douro region is further divided into three regions from west to east as:

• Baixo Corgo: This is the most westerly sub-region and is found to be more suitable for the table wine production. This sub-region is cooler, as well as wetter than the others and is generally considered to produce wines of lower quality than the other sub-regions. In total, this sub-region has 14,000 hectares under vine cultivation.
• Cima Corgo: This is the largest sub-region of Douro and has almost 19,000 hectares of land under vine cultivation. This region is accounting for almost half of the total wine production in the Douro. This is considered to be the heart of ‘Port wine’ production although several of fine fortified wines are produced here today.
• Douro Superior: This is the hottest, as well as driest sub-region in the Douro and is found to be producing several good-quality wines. This is the most recently planted region and is found to have about 8,700 hectares of land under vine cultivation.

In general, the red wines of Douro are found to be robust and full-bodied and are subjected to aging in oak barrels.

The grape varieties that are used for the port wine production are also used in the dry red wine production too.

Grape Varieties in Douro

It’s to be noted that the port wines, as well as DOC wines of the Douro, are made only from the native grapes. As such, the major native grape varieties used in the production of Douro wines are:

Major Native Reds:

• Touriga Nacional
• Tinta Barroca
• Tinto Cão
• Tinta Roriz
• Touriga Franca

Major Native Whites:

• Malvasia Fina
• Rabigato
• Viosinho

Other plantations include:

• Sousão
• Tinta Amarela
• Gouveio
• Moscatel

International Varieties:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Gewürztraminer

Wines from Douro

Spanish Red Wine - Spanish White Wine - Spanish Rosé Wine - Spanish Dessert Wine

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