Douro is one of the wildest and most rugged regions in Portugal, carved by the valley of the Douro River and schist soils.
Nowhere else in Portugal is man's intervention in the landscape so evident, visible in the thousands of terraces scattered throughout the region, defying the gravity of the steep slopes where the vines are planted.
Highly mountainous, the region is protected from the Atlantic influence by the Serra do Marão. It is split in three sub-regions, Lower Corgo, Upper Corgo and Douro Superior. The climate is usually dry, with cold winters and very hot summers, ranging from moderate rainfall in the west to the almost desert-like dryness of the land near the border.
Among the hundreds of varieties, five red varieties stand out, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional, selected for their excellence in producing Port Wine. The white varieties Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Moscatel, Rabigato and Viosinho, and the red varieties Sousão and Tinta Amarela (Trincadeira) also stand out.