Buy Douro wine: red and white from Portugal's most spectacular wine region

The Douro at a glance

Location	Northern Portugal, along the Douro river, from just west of Régua to the Spanish border
Appellations	DOC Douro (unfortified wine) and Port, in the same area; demarcated in 1756
Subregions	Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior
Soil	Mainly schist; granite on the edges and at higher elevations
Red grapes	Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão, plus dozens of others in old field-blend vineyards
White grapes	Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio, Códega do Larinho
Style	Reds from powerful to refined and fresh; whites with tension and minerality, often from high-altitude vineyards
Heritage	The Alto Douro Wine Region has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001

Why the Douro is so exciting

Because unfortified wine is a fairly young project here, there is plenty for wine lovers to discover. Every harvest brings exciting new wines, and given the Douro's almost endless richness, in grape varieties as well as in soils and climates, that will not end any time soon.

Location

The DOC Douro coincides with the Port production area and stretches north and south of the Douro and several tributaries. The vineyards start just west of the town of Régua and run to the Spanish border in the east. A mountain range shields them from the cool, damp Atlantic wind. Winters are cold, summers very hot and dry.

Thanks to the heat, the south-facing slopes are ideal for port. For unfortified wines, growers increasingly look to the north-facing slopes or to higher ground.

(Recent) history

Long before the Marquis of Pombal laid down the first rules for port production in 1756, wine was already made in the Douro. Only in the 18th century, thanks to a trade agreement with the British (the Methuen Treaty), was that wine shipped to England on a large scale. It was found that adding alcohol helped the wine survive the sea voyage. Port was born, and from then on almost all Douro wine was fortified.

With port so successful, nobody paid attention to unfortified wine. That only changed in the mid-20th century. Winemaker Fernando Nicolau de Almeida worked for the port house Ferreira and, after a visit to Bordeaux, persuaded his employer to start an ambitious new project. He was convinced he could make a wine of the very highest level in the Douro. The first grapes were picked in 1952, and four years later the first Barca Velha reached the market. It was quickly recognised as something very special and inspired other initiatives.

From the 1980s onwards, new producers appeared. In 1990 Dirk Niepoort, who had just taken over his father's port house, made his first Robustus. Niepoort was far from the only one, but he would play a decisive role: he made more and more red and later white Douro wine himself, and drew a whole generation of new winemakers in his wake.

When we first arrived in the Douro in 2000, it was a very exciting time. Young winemakers were emerging everywhere. They stopped selling the grapes from the family vineyards to the port houses and made wine from them themselves. Year after year, new wines appeared.

With no tradition to follow, there was plenty of experimentation. Italy, Spain and southern France were going through a similar period of renewal. Not everything worked straight away, but some bottles from those pioneering years still show the potential Nicolau de Almeida saw more than half a century earlier.

Today, Douro winemakers have plenty of vintages behind them. Like their colleagues elsewhere, they embraced and then largely abandoned the overuse of new oak. Influenced by critics such as Robert Parker, they first chased power and concentration, before mostly arriving at a more refined, lighter style. The best innovations, such as stainless steel and temperature control, became standard, while old traditions such as fermenting in open granite tanks (lagares) were kept.

The ingredients for a great recipe

With every harvest, knowledge of the vineyards grows, and that is quite a challenge for a Douro winemaker. Three hundred years of port production have left a vast patchwork of vineyards. Today no fewer than 80 grape varieties are permitted within the DOC Douro, most of them indigenous. Recent plantings have often favoured a handful of recommended varieties (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz…), but some producers preserve the diversity of the old vineyards, where up to 30 different varieties grow side by side. Their different ripening times make vineyard management harder, but that diversity clearly benefits the complexity of the wines.

Geological activity has made the landscape especially rugged. Schist dominates the soil, but granite takes over on the edges and at higher elevations. Differences in altitude are considerable, with vineyards up to 800 metres. That has a big impact on temperature, and therefore on how quickly the grapes ripen. There are three subregions, each with its own climate: Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior.

All these variables combine into wines of very different character, and each new harvest adds to that variety. The adventurous wine lover will always find something new.

Our Douro producers

Poeira (Jorge Moreira)

Jorge Moreira makes his Poeira on a north-facing slope: Douro built on freshness and finesse rather than sheer power. From the approachable Pó de Poeira to the Vinha da Torre.
About Poeira · All Poeira wines

Wine & Soul (Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges)

One of the winemaking couples who helped shape the new Douro. In our range: Pintas, Pintas Character, the white Guru, Quinta da Manoella and Manoella Vinhas Velhas, and the Pintas Vintage Port.
Pintas · Manoella · Guru

Quinta do Vale Meão

A historic estate in the Douro Superior, where the grapes for the first Barca Velha once came from. From Meandro to the grand vin Quinta do Vale Meão, also in magnum.
Meandro · Monte Meão · Quinta do Vale Meão

Luis Seabra

Former winemaker at Niepoort, now with his own project centred on the schist of the Douro: Xisto Ilimitado, Xisto Cru and Indie Xisto.
All Luis Seabra wines

Morgadio da Calçada

Red and white Douro, including the Reserva Branco.
All Morgadio da Calçada wines

The Nat' Cool series

Light, easy-drinking Douro wines from the Nat' Cool series, such as Drink Me and Primata.
View Nat' Cool

Large formats

For parties and the cellar: Meandro in magnum (1.5 L) and double magnum (3 L), Quinta do Vale Meão in magnum and Poeira in Balthazar (12 L).

View all Douro wines in the webshop

Delivery and collection

We deliver throughout Belgium. Shipping costs €15.73 (incl. VAT) and is free from €175. Prefer to collect? You can pick up your order at our shop in Roeselare, Kaaistraat 62A. More about delivery

Frequently asked questions about Douro wine

Where can you buy Douro wine in Belgium?

Since 1999, The Portugal Collection has specialised in Portuguese wine and imports Douro wines directly from producers such as Poeira, Wine & Soul, Quinta do Vale Meão and Luis Seabra. Order online with delivery throughout Belgium, or collect in Roeselare.

What is the difference between Douro wine and port?

Both come from the same region. Port is a fortified wine: alcohol is added during fermentation, which keeps some of the sugar and makes the wine sweet and powerful. Wine with the DOC Douro appellation is not fortified: it is ordinary dry red and white wine. Read more about port on our page about port.

Which grapes are used for Douro wine?

For reds mainly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão, often blended. For whites Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio and Códega do Larinho, among others. Old vineyards can hold up to 30 varieties planted together.

How much does a good Douro wine cost?

In our range, from everyday wines under 15 euros to icons such as Pintas and Quinta do Vale Meão. A wine like Pó de Poeira or Xisto Ilimitado is a good introduction to the new, fresher Douro style.

What food goes with Douro wine?

Red Douro goes well with lamb, grilled meat, game and stews. White Douro, with its tension and minerality, suits fish, poultry and soft cheeses.

Discover our other Portuguese wine regions too: Dão, Bairrada, Vinho Verde, Alentejo, Lisboa and Porto.