We rode through the Douro Valley in early July, 2001 after our second trip to Porto. This area of Portugal is where the grapes are grown for the production of port wine. This area is located approximately 100 km east of Porto along the Douro River. We suspect that port wine would never have been produced were it not for the river. The river provided a relatively easy way to move the harvest downstream to Porto where production took place. As the numerous pictures that appear here attest, the area is quite rugged and roads in the area even today are quite primitive in many places. The wine is moved in bulk from the mountains to Porto today by tanker trucks on new roads which do not go through the valley itself but around it.

We learned that there are three distinct areas in the valley in relation to the production of the grapes. The area located closest to the coast tends to produce grapes that are used to make the sweeter ports because they weather is just a bit cooler. The area furthest from the coast is the hottest and driest area and produces grapes that are mostly used for the production of the drier wines.

The first area, the lower Douro Valley, has the most marine influence and mildest climate. Here, the hills are green as they get occasional summer rain. At left is a picture taken near Frende, looking back toward the ocean. We began to see the vineyards here, though other crops were being grown as well. The day we chose to ride out this way was a bit cooler than normal as we were getting the southern tip of a storm. We thought the clouds might help keep the temperatures down, which thankfully they did!

The next area, the middle Douro Valley, gets a bit drier, with fewer native trees across the landscape. The soil is rockier and drier, but the area is almost totally cultivated with vineyards. The picture at right was taken near Folgosa, about 50 km inland from the picture above. The trees here tend to be olive trees as they can live comfortably in the hotter, drier climate. Notice how calm the river is; it was just like glass most of the time (where are our water-skis when we need them?).

Further inland we found ourselves in the upper Douro Valley, the hottest, driest, rockiest area of all. The picture at left was taken high above the river, just before Ervadosa do Douro. In this area, the road does not follow along the river, but climbs above it, then turns south, away from the river. This was our last glimpse of the Douro along this road. (The train follows the river through this area, so if you rode the train from Porto, you would be able to follow up this valley all the way to Pocinho). 

As we headed south, we were in the midst of the vineyards and what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Here, as we rode next to the plantings, we could see the schist soil they grow in. At right is a picture of the “soil” if you want to call it that! The native rock (schist) is ground up as best they can to dig the holes and plant the vines. As you can see, it is more like a coarse gravel than soil as we know it. But the grapes seem to thrive here, sending their roots deep into the rock where they can find water (very few vineyards are irrigated). The area will also support olive and almond trees, both lovers of the dry climate. But other than that and some annual grasses, it is a pretty barren landscape. The lush greenness of the vineyards provides a sharp contrast to uncultivated areas, now golden with the dry grass. At left is Jim and his bike looking down the rows of a vineyard.

Looking over the landscape, we continue to be amazed at the acreage devoted to vineyards. The grape-growing region of the Douro extends about 140 km from about Frende in the west, to the Spanish border. The area also extends about 10-30 km north and south of the river. And from what we could see, probably 70-80% of this area is cultivated with vineyards. That’s a lot of grapes! Now imagine in August and September the number of manual laborers that are needed to climb all these hills and pick the grapes, then carry them in baskets now weighing 60 kilos (about 130 lb.) down the rows to trucks waiting to haul them away. Because of the rocky soil and steep hills, machinery cannot be used within the rows of grape vines.

In this area archeologists have found rock carvings from the Paleothetic era. See our page on Parque Arqueologico Vale do Coa for more information and pictures of the carvings.

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