Porto & Douro Valley
This wine tour connects northern Portugal and northwestern Spain. On the way, you will get to know the charming city of Porto, whose atmosphere of the historic district with small restaurants and wine bars will make everyone fall in love. In Porto, you can taste wonderful long-matured port wines and delicious local food. In the rugged landscapes of the Douro river valley, you will get to know wine growing that started in the Middle Ages. In Galicia, the focus is especially on fresh and acidic white wines made from the albariño grape from the Miño river estuary. The extremely beautiful postcard landscapes next to lovely small villages, the sea, rivers and canyons captivate the traveler.
The Dao wine region can also be combined with the trip. In this case, we will visit the vineyards located on the mountainous granite and slate soil of the Dao region, where the vineyards rise between the dense eucalyptus and pine forests, and stay in the town of Viseu.
Viseu is a charming medieval town located on the plateau of the Caramulo and Serra mountain ranges. Mountains rise up on both sides of it and dense pine forests and vineyards spread out in front of it. The city has been declared the gastronomic capital of the region.
Portugal is a very traditional wine country. Its wine production dates back to the times of the ancient Romans. Portugal has become well known in the wine world for its port wines, but it also produces a lot of red and white wines.
The Douro region starts from the city of Porto on the Atlantic coast in northern Portugal. The wine growing area itself is located inland about 100 km along the Douro River. In addition to the cultivation area itself, this riverside area also includes the wine storage area of Villa Nova de Gaia on the opposite bank of the city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro.
Wine has already been produced in the Douro region during Roman rule from 300 to 200 BC. The Romans had a settlement at the mouth of the Douro River, which became a trading post called Portucale. Over the centuries, farmers have leveled the steep slopes into narrow terraces where the vines grow.
The Douro Valley is the world’s first demarcated and regulated wine region, which received its own wine laws as early as 1756, about a hundred years before France. The results in the quality of the wines were quickly visible, because at the end of the 18th century, the English bought ten times more wine from Portugal than from Bordeaux, France.
The Douro Valley was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 in recognition of the region’s long tradition of viticulture (over 2,000 years).
There are two DOC regions in the Douro region, Douro and Porto, and the VR (Vinho Regional) classified wines of the region are called VR Duriense.
The Dão wine region is located in the north of Portugal and south of the famous Douro Valley. It gets its name from the Dão river, around which most of the area’s vineyards are located.
Dão naturally has ideal conditions for viticulture. The vineyards are protected from cold sea winds and the climate is the best possible for the development of good wines.
The Dão region has 2 sub-regions belonging to the DOC classification, Lafões and Dão..
The region’s VR (Vinho Regional) classified wines are called VR Vinho Regional Terras do Dão.
