North Portugal

Porto, Minho, Alto Douro Trás-os-Montes

Most famous Portuguese wines
Norte de Portugal concentrates most of the country's wine production. Since the 17th century the exports of the Cheiro de Lamego Wine, later known as Port Wine, made this famous fortified wine the ambassador of Portugal in the four cardinal points of the world. From England and the Netherlands, initially, Port Wine won the world and made the RDD - the Demarcated Douro Region a prominent place in both both economic and heritage point of view. For this purpose, the Douro Vinhateiro was classified Heritage of Humanity by Unesco.

In addition to the Port Wine, the Vinho Verde do Minho and, currently, the Vinho do Douro add even more value to the wine offer from Northern Portugal.





Therefore, do not confuse the DOC Douro with the Denomination of Origin Porto, relative only to liqueur wines. From the Douro DOC vineyards some of the finest reds and whites are produced. Portugal. In addition to the DOC Douro, the Regional Duriense designation also applies to wines produced in the region.

World Heritage

Classified as a World Heritage Site (Unesco), the vineyards of the Douro occupy a located south of Trás-os-Montes, east of Minho and north of Beiras. To the west, it borders on Spain. They spread on the slopes of the Rio Douro and tributaries and are generally located between altitudes ranging from 100 to 700 meters.

Port and Douro

These two prestigious appellations of origin (Porto and Douro) occupy the same geographical area of ​​about 250,000 ha of vineyards. The cultivation of vines had always had more expansion in the western part of the region, in the so-called Alto Douro (which comprises the Cima Corgo and the Lower Corgo), than in the eastern part, called Upper Douro [1].

Localization

The Alto Douro, in turn, was subdivided into Baixo Corgo (more or less Peso da Régua to the west) and Cima Corgo (to the east, comprising Sabrosa, Alijó and Pinhão north of the River; south of the Douro, São João da Pesqueira) [1]. To find out more about the vineyards and vineyards planted in the Douro, see Vineyards of the Douro

Demarcation area of ​​the Douro

The area comprising DO Douro (the same as DO Porto) is divided into 3 sub-regions:

• Baixo Corgo (parts of Vila Real and Viseu districts)

• Cima Corgo (parts of Vila Real, Viseu and Bragança districts)

• Douro Superior (parts of the districts of Bragança and Guarda)

Thus, the region is formed by districts (states, in Brazil), municipalities and parishes the following: see complete list

Denominations of Origin (DO)

The region produces red, white and pink VQPRD with DO, DOP; VEQPRD, VLQPRD (Muscatel do Douro), Wine Brandy and DOC wines without other complementary designation.

Muscatel do Douro

Wine produced exclusively from the Moscatel Galego Branco variety.

Variety of grapes

For the production of Douro Wine, several national varieties are used, around 130!. Among these, stand out Gouveio and Malvasia Fina (white) and Touriga and Aragonez (red). Some of these varieties: Barca, Patorra, Pé Comprido, Viosinho, Vital, Petit Bouschet, Seville, Sercial, White Pine, Bical, Fog, Syria, Barreto, Pinot Noir, Bastard, Sémillon, Batoca, Cornifesto, White Guimaraes, Special White, Bragao, Malvasia Parda, Malvasia Preta, Malvasia Rei, Tamarez, Malvasia Fina, Mouse, Marufo, Melra, Verdelho, Caramel, Malandra.

World Class Appetizer

Port wine is recognized around the world for its quality and value, being served at the main ceremonies as a unique aperitif. Find out more: Port Wine.

Red Douro wines

Rich in color and aroma, DO Douro red wines are velvety and have a pleasant taste, in addition to aging nobly.

White Douro wines

As for Douro white wines, they are fine, light, fresh, pleasantly acidic and very aromatic.