Douro
Continental with Mediterranean influence
A steep, schist-terraced river valley where Port was born and where dry reds now rival it.
Overview
About Douro
The Douro's vineyards climb terraces carved from the walls of the river gorge; the Alto Douro Wine Region was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. From west to east the region is divided into the Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior, which become progressively hotter and drier.
Port is made by adding grape spirit part-way through fermentation, which stops it and leaves the wine sweet and strong. The same grapes — Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão — now also make dry Douro reds, which have been one of Portugal's great success stories.
Douro is marked on the map.
Portugal
Shaded: Vila Real, Viseu, Bragança, Guarda. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Continental with Mediterranean influence
Hot, dry summers and cold winters. The Serra do Marão mountains block Atlantic rain, so precipitation falls sharply from west to east, from the wetter Baixo Corgo to the hottest and driest Douro Superior.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Predominantly schist (xisto), a metamorphic rock that fractures into vertical layers so roots can dive deep to find water, with patches of granite. Slopes are steep, and terraced by hand or in broader machine-built patamares.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
The Douro has two appellations for the same vineyards: Douro DOC for still wine and Porto DOC for the fortified one. Port then has its own ladder of styles.
Vintage Port
Declared only in exceptional years, from a single harvest, and aged in bottle for decades.
Late Bottled Vintage and Tawny
Ready sooner: LBV is from one year and aged in barrel; tawnies are aged in cask for years and blended.
Ruby
The youngest and simplest style of Port.
Douro DOC
Dry table wines, mostly red, from the same grapes.
Subzones
Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior, running from the wetter west to the hotter, drier east.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.