Day 6 - Douro River Valley

The Douro River valley is where Port wine is made. It has a unique microclimate that is critical for the wine and is the only place in the world "port" can be produced. In fact, in 1776, it became the first region in the world to have a wine demarcation. Champagne did not receive demarcation until 1908.

The valley has steep hillsides down to the Douro River. In the summer it is blazing hot, which grape love. Last year the valley reached 125°F. The winters are cold and icy. There is no irrigation for the vines, only those with the deepest roots survive. It's actually a lot more complicated than that. Ask me if you are interested. It's too complex to go into here.

Pinhão River flows into the Douro River

Grape Vines

Zone A, closest to the river

On our tour of the Douro Valley we had port tastings at two quintas (estates), a three course lunch and tours of the wine making process. That's a lot of fortified wine. Greg's favorite type of port was the white, the driest, and Laurel's the tawny. Neither of us cared for the newest type, the rosé which has been developed specifically to introduce younger people to port.

Our tour group of 8 was international, representing Australia, England, and Italy in addition to us Yankees. The Douro Valley was roughly a 90 minute drive away, so we had some interesting conversations. Sylvia, from Venice, was celebrating her birthday. She is a tour guide and sommelier, and was the life of the group.

The wine cannot be aged in the Douro Valley, it's too hot in summer. So it is transported to Gaia, just across the Douro River from Porto, to be aged. It is not transported in these huge barrels, but siphoned onto smaller oak barrels for transport and aging.