The Douro is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta Central in Castile and León into northern Portugal. Its most plentiful tributary is the right-bank Esla river. At Douro's mouth at Porto, the second largest city of Portugal, the river meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Porto or Oporto is the second largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Oporto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 231,800 people in a municipality with only 41.42 km2. Porto's metropolitan area has around 1.7 million people (2021) in an area of 2,395 km2 (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.
Peso da Régua, commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2011 was 17,131, in an area of 94.86 km2 (36.63 sq mi) km².
Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population of 178,255 in 2001. The municipality has an area of 168.46 km². and a total population of 302,295 inhabitants (2011), making it the most populous municipality in Norte Region. Gaia along with Porto and 12 other municipalities make up the commonly designated Porto Metropolitan Area.
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the Douro and Dão. Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black fruit. Jancis Robinson has compared its relationship with Touriga Francesa to the partnership between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the former providing structure, the latter filling out the bouquet.
Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer and were unfamiliar with wine production. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the Methuen Treaty in 1703. From this commerce a wide variety of wines started to be grown in Portugal. In 1758, one of the first wine-producing regions of the world, the Região Demarcada do Douro was created under the orientation of Marquis of Pombal, in the Douro Valley. Portugal has two wine-producing regions protected by UNESCO as World Heritage: the Douro Valley Wine Region and Pico Island Wine Region. Portugal has a big variety of local kinds, producing a very wide variety of different wines with distinctive personality.
Douro is a Portuguese wine region centered on the Douro River in the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region. It is sometimes referred to as the Alto Douro, as it is located some distance upstream from Porto, sheltered by mountain ranges from coastal influence. The region has Portugal's highest wine classification as a Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) and is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin under EU and UK law, and as a Geographical Indication in several other countries through bilateral agreements. While the region is best known for Port wine production, the Douro produces just as much table wine as it does fortified wine. The non-fortified wines are typically referred to as "Douro wines".
Touriga Francesa is one of the major grape varieties used to produce port wine. Touriga Francesa is lighter and more perfumed than Touriga Nacional, adding finesse to the wine. Touriga Francesa has been described by Jancis Robinson as playing "Cabernet Franc to Touriga Nacional’s Cabernet Sauvignon". It is a cross of two other indigenous Portuguese wine grape varieties Mourisco tinto and Touriga Nacional. Touriga Francesa is quite similar to Touriga Nacional, needing harsh conditions to keep vigor down as it gets on the steep arid slopes of the Douro. It is usually trained low to the ground under one of the Royat systems. Yields are medium (1,5 kg/vine), not as bad as Touriga Nacional.
São João da Pesqueira is a municipality and municipal seat in the Portuguese district of Viseu. The population of the municipality in 2011 was approximately 7,874 inhabitants, in an area that extends 266.11 square kilometres (102.75 sq mi). The present mayor is Manuel Cordeiro, elected by a citizens' movement. The municipal holiday is June 24.
The Douro Wine Company was a government oversight organization established by the Portuguese Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal to regulate the trade and production of Port wine. Established in 1756, one of the first official duties of the company was the delineation of the boundaries of the Douro wine region. This act essentially made the Douro the world's first regional appellation. While the boundaries of the Chianti and Tokaji wine regions were outlined in 1716 and 1737, respectively, neither of these regions were "technically" appellations in the sense of being subjected to continued government control and regulations. Under their charter, Pombal invested an immense amount of control in the Douro Wine Company to regulate all exports of Port, set production quantities limits, fix maximum and minimum prices for grapes and to serve as sole arbitrator in any disputes between vine growers and Port shippers. In 1761, the company was further granted a monopoly on the sale of brandy which was used in the fortification process of Port winemaking. The Douro Wine Company continued to operate to 1833. Today, many of it functions have been deregulated with the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto or being the official regulating body of Port wine and Douro table wine production.
The Quinta classification of Port vineyards in the Douro is a system that grades the terroir and quality potential of vineyards in the Douro wine region to produce grapes suitable for the production of Port wine. In Portuguese, a quinta is a wine producing estate, which can be a winery or a vineyard. While other wine classification systems may classify the winery, the Douro quinta classification is based upon the physical characteristics of the vineyard. The classification system is run by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP) and shares some similarities to the classification of Champagne vineyards in that one of the purposes of the system is to ensuring that vineyards producing grapes with the highest quality potential receive a high price. A secondary function of the quinta classification is the establishment of permitted yields for production. Quintas with a higher classification are permitted to harvest more grapes than a vineyard that received a lower classification.
The British Factory House, also known as the British Association House, is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian building located in the northern Portuguese centre of Porto, associated with the influence of Britain in the Porto Wine industry.
Fonseca Guimaraens, often simply called Fonseca, is one of the largest Port wine houses in Portugal. Manoel Pedro Gonçalves Guimaraens and his brother João Gonçalves Salgueiro, established the company in 1822 when they acquired control of the Fonseca and Monteiro Company from the Fonseca Family by purchase of the majority of Fonseca owned shares. A condition of the sale of Fonseca's shares was that the name Fonseca remain as the brand name. David Guimaraens, the great-great-great grandson of the founder Manuel Pedro, has been the head winemaker since 1994, and oversees the winemaking and blending for all four Taylor Fladgate Port houses: Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca Guimaraens, Croft, and Delaforce.
The Tait House is a former 18th century residence in the civil parish of Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos, in the municipality of Porto, in northern Portugal. Today it is a Museum of Numismatics.
Douro Film Harvest is the first totally decentralized international summit of cinema, that takes place in Alto Douro Wine Region,a area classified by UNESCO as World Heritage Patrimony and homeland of Porto Wine.
The rabelo boat is a traditional Portuguese wooden cargo boat that was used for centuries to transport people and goods along the Douro River. It is flat-bottomed, with a shallow draught, which was necessary to navigate the often shallow fast-flowing waters of the upper Douro prior to the construction of dams and locks from 1968 onwards.
Vila Nova de Gaia is one of the leading tourism destinations in northern Portugal, located directly opposite Porto, on the South bank of Douro river. These two cities interconnect with each other through several bridges over Douro river. Vila Nova de Gaia is home to several notable attractions, such as the Port wine cellars, Dom Luís I Bridge, the Teleferico, Monastery of Serra do Pilar, Douro Estuary and 18 km long beaches.
Churchill's Port is a port wine company based in Porto, founded in 1981 by John Graham, who named the company after his wife, Caroline Churchill.
Fernando Nicolau de Almeida (1913–1998) was a pioneering Portuguese oenologist, best known for developing the Barca Velha red wine, one of the most expensive wines in Portugal.
