Stories from the Côa Valley

Almonds from the Côa Valley: Tradition and Flavour of the Upper Douro

The Côa Valley and Its Centenary Almond Trees On the schist slopes that stretch along the Côa Valley, in the heart of the Upper Douro, almond trees have existed for as long as the memories of the p...

Grape Harvest in the Douro: What It’s Like to Pick Grapes on the River’s Terraces

Grape Harvest in the Douro: The Arduous Labour on the River’s Terraces The arrival of autumn marks the start of one of the Douro region’s most demanding traditions. Whilst tourists admire the steep...

Douro White Wines: The Region’s Best-Kept Secrets

Douro White Wines: The Region’s Best Secrets While Gaucho reds have won international awards for decades, the region's white wines remain a sublime discovery for many connoisseurs. Produced on the ...

Portuguese Mountain Honey: Varieties, Properties and How to Choose

Portuguese Mountain Honey: Varieties, Properties, and How to Choose Produced in the high altitudes of the Portuguese mountains, mountain honey represents one of the country's less celebrated gastro...

How to Store Wine at Home: A Practical Guide Without a Professional Wine Cellar

How to Store Wine at Home: A Practical Guide Without a Professional Wine Cellar Owning a good bottle of wine doesn't necessarily require a climate-controlled cellar costing thousands of euros. With...

Wine and Food Pairing: Basic Principles to Get It Right

Wine and Food Pairing: Basic Principles to Get It Right The perfect pairing of wine and food is often shrouded in mystery and complicated rules. The truth is simpler and more liberating: understand...

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: How to Choose, Taste and Store the Best Olive Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Essentials Extra virgin olive oil is extracted mechanically and has a free acidity of less than 0.8 g/100 ml. Its quality depends primarily on the harvest date: in Septe...

The Complete Guide to Touriga Nacional: The Queen of Portuguese Grape Varieties

Touriga Nacional: The Queen of Portuguese Grape Varieties Touriga Nacional is Portugal’s finest red grape variety — structured, complex and with great ageing potential. Native to the Douro, it is c...

Rock Art of the Côa Valley: A 20,000-Year-Old Heritage

Rock Art of the Côa Valley: A 20,000-Year-Old Heritage The Côa Valley preserves one of the most impressive collections of Palaeolithic rock art in Europe — engravings and paintings dating from betw...

Upper Douro: The Wild Heart of Portuguese Wine

Upper Douro: The Wild Heart of Portuguese Wine The Upper Douro is the easternmost and most unforgiving region of the Douro — a landscape of wild schist, an extreme continental climate and wines wit...