The river has had an enormous impact on the region, not just in terms of the terrain, but also in making the terroir accessible to human enterprise. The area is cooler and wetter than its neighbors, but also more accessible, meaning that more bulk-wine operations are possible. Nearest Oporto and the coast is the Baixo Corgo (Lower Corgo) subregion, the area best suited to the production of table wines. This discrepancy in the climate means that the harvest is often completed in multiple sweeps of the same vineyard. Vines nearer the river tend to ripen much earlier than those at higher elevations, as the river holds warmth more readily than the air. ![]() The steep vineyards of Cima Corgo are predominantly composed of schist with sizable granite deposits. Cima Corgo is the largest of the Douro's three subregions, and accounts for almost half of the valley's total wine production. The central part of the Douro region, centered on the village of Pinhão, is known as the Cima Corgo region, where most high-end Vintage Port originates. This emerging subregion is covered in terraced vineyards and takes up about 20 percent of available vineyard land in Douro. The Douro Superior region is the furthest inland, sharing its border with that of Portugal itself. These subregions each express different aspects of the area's hot continental climate. There are three recognized subregions of the Douro, each covering a section of the river as it flows toward Oporto. Typically, however, the vineyards stretch up the steep, dry slopes on either side of the river and its myriad tributaries on narrow rocky terraces – a sight that has been classified as a Unesco World Heritage site (a honor that has also been bestowed on the similar landscape of the Wachau wine region in Austria). The Douro's most unifying trait is its mountainous terrain, although the area covers a broad array of terroir with any number of different aspects, altitudes and soil types. From here, it cuts through the landscape, creating a unique and historic wine region before meeting the ocean at Oporto. From its source in northern Spain, where it is known as the Duero, it flows through the famous vineyards of Ribera del Duero (and the less well-known regions of Toro and Tierra del Vino de Zamora) before finding the Portuguese border and becoming the Douro. The viticultural zone covers the steep slopes along the banks of the lower reaches of the river, which is one of the longest on the Iberian peninsula. Though Douro is best known for its fortified wines, total production here is fairly evenly split between Port and non-fortified table wines. It takes its name from the Douro river, which flows east to west from the Spanish border to Oporto, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. ![]() The Douro region of northern Portugal is the home of Port.
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