• Porto
• Portugal
• EGP
• University of Porto
• FEUP
• IPP
• ISEP
• Fenix Hotels
• House of Music
• Port Wine Cellars
• Serralves Foundation

Porto: a wine with a history

For almost two millennia, a unique viticultural landscape rose on the schistous hillsides along the Douro River valley and that has produced an exceptional wine. More than a gift of Nature, Port Wine is at heart the expression of this history, a collective cultural heritage of work and experience, know-how and art, that has built up from generation to generation. Port Wine was, and is, a key product for the national economy and even more, a symbolic asset that represents Portugal throughout the world.

The history of vineyards in the Upper Douro is a long and ancient one. There is no lack of archeological discoveries and documented references to witness the cultural persistence of viticulture from past eras.

Remains of stone treading tanks and casks dating back at least to the 3rd and 4th centuries can be found throughout the region. The designation Port Wine, however, only appears during the second half of the 17th century at a time of the expansion of Douro viticulture and rapid growth in wine exports.