Alto Douro: The world's oldest wine-growing region
June 23, 2021
The Douro cuts deep into the landscape of the northeastern corner of Portugal. Here, near the border with Spain, the river meanders through innumerable shale hills. Lush vineyards rise up to either side of the river's banks. The radiant white walls of the wine estates, known locally as the quintas, every now and then flash through the green vines.
The first ever protected wine-growing region
Wine has been grown in Alto Douro, the 'high Douro', for more than 2,000 years. The Romans realized the ideal conditions of the dry-hot climate and planted vines here. Many centuries later, in 1756, the borders of the region were officially defined for the first time. With this, the Alto Douro became the first ever legally protected wine-growing region in the world. It was also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. To this day the territory remains one of the most important wine regions in Europe. Vintners cultivate grapes here on around 25,000 hectares of land. History and tradition are particularly important to them. The grapes are still picked by hand, as the slopes are too steep for machines, and the mash is still crushed by foot at most of the vineyards, just as it always has been.
From vine to barrel: a visit to a winery
To experience this technology first hand, DW reporter Hendrik Welling also rolled up his trouser legs and took part in the tradition. During his trip to the Alto Douro for the series "Europe to the Maxx" on DW's lifestyle and culture magazine "Euromaxx," he visited one of the oldest wineries in the region and learned how the winegrowing and making traditions are preserved to this day. You can see in our video how much effort it takes to turn the grapes from the Alto Douro into the famous port wine.
World famous best seller: port wine
The Alto Douro region is the cradle of the port, and the sweet fortified wine can only be pressed out of the grapes that grow here. After the crushing, the must of the grapes is mixed with high-proof brandy. This stops the fermentation, and provides for port's characteristic taste as well as a high alcohol content of around 20 percent by volume. The famous beverage obtains its final aroma near the city that also gave it its name: Porto. It has to mature for at least two years in one of the many wineries around the harbor city. Only then is it exported to a myriad of countries, taking the taste of the oldest wine-growing region in Europe out into the world.
Service tips:
Address: Alto Douro, Portugal
Getting there: From Porto you can reach the region of Alto Douro by car, train or boat.
Special tip: A very pleasant experience is taking the Linha do Douro. This train route leads from Porto to Pocinho along the Douro, and is one of the prettiest in Europe.
The accompanying book
Europe at its most extreme: The series "Europe to the Maxx" on DW's lifestyle and culture magazine Euromaxx makes Europe's superlatives experienceable — from extraordinary architecture to spectacular landscapes to unique cultural phenomena. Accompanying the series, the book 111 Extreme Places in Europe That You Shouldn't Miss was published in cooperation with Emons Verlag. It is an alternative travel guide, both informative and entertaining, for avid travelers, fans of Europe and anyone who likes to show off with unusual pub quiz trivia. Full of guaranteed record breakers!