Alto Douro Wine Region

The Douro is a Portuguese wine region centred on the river of the same name, in Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. It is often called the Alto Douro, the upper Douro, being some distance upstream of Porto and sheltered from coastal weather by the mountain ranges between. It carries Portugal’s highest wine classification, Denominação de Origem Controlada, and is a Protected Designation of Origin under EU and UK law. The terracing is what people come for, schist slopes cut into steps above the water, worked by hand for centuries.