Vertical planting in the Douro

[Roy Hersh]

Are you familiar with vineyards in the Douro that are planted perpendicular to the Douro River instead of the horizontally situated vineyards which are situated in typical terracing fashion as shown in almost every picture of the Douro.

Vertical planting is called Vinha Ao Alto and it has been around for about three decades now. The benefit is that it makes it far easier, when slopes do not exceed 35 degrees, to:
* plant
* ongoing cultivation
* pick the grapes by hand at harvest

In other regions of Portugal where the steep slopes of the vineyard are not so difficult, this is a common practice, but in the Douro it is still something that can only be used on occasion and makes up a very small swath of the overall planted vineyard land.

[Glenn E.]

I have a neat picture taken at Quinta do Panascal that shows all 3 forms of planting in one shot. The section of vertically planted vines is by far the smallest, but it's there!

[Roy Hersh]

I wasn't aware that there are only 3. However, it would be great if you would include your photo of Panascal on PORTraits so everyone can see this style of planting. Thanks Glenn.

We'll need to get together in the next week or so and catch up with stories from Portugal as I am looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

[Glenn E.]

Well the way I've heard it told, the three types of plantings are:

1. The really old 1-3 row patamares with the hand-built stone walls.
2. Newer and wider socalcos which can handle 10-20 rows per terrace.
3. The newest vinha ao alto or vertical plantings.

One could easily argue that there is a 4th type, however, because of the difference between modern patamares and the old hand-made ones. The modern ones are made by bulldozers and so don't have stone walls separating them vertically - just very steep banks.

I'll find the picture and get it uploaded one of these days...

[Glenn E.]

Here are two pictures that do a pretty good job of showing all of the planting styles.

The first shows modern Patamares (left edge) and Socalcos (bottom center):



The second shows Vinha Ao Alto (small patch in center), old Patamares (right side center, possibly also the top of the hill), and modern Patamares (lower left) though the modern Patamares aren't as tidy and identifiable as they are in the first picture.



I think the first photo actually has all of the planting styles in it, but the small patch in the upper left corner that I think is Vinha Ao Alto isn't readily identifiable as such even at full resolution. The old Patamares around the building at the right of the picture are identifiable, but too difficult to distinguish to make a good reference photo.

[Glenn E.]

Here's another example that many of you will recognize!

This is taken from Quinta do Noval across the valley to Taylor's Quinta de Terra Feita. Noval has old patamares (left center next to the road), socalcos (center), and modern patamares (top right) all in use in this shot. Terra Feita has a large section of vinha ao alto in use a little bit down the left side of the picture from the top left corner.

[Andy Velebil]

its a bit hard to see, but it also looks like there are Mortorios there too. They are the old Patamares that died out and were abandoned during Phylloxera.

[Glenn E.]

Yes, definitely. That hillside is littered with old terraces that are no longer in use.

[Andy Velebil]

Very cool

And the Tayors Quinta is Terra Feita

[Glenn E.]

Yes! Thanks, I have edited the original post.

I also uploaded an 80% resolution version of the Noval picture to PORTraits so that you can see the vinha ao alto planting in better detail.

[Frederick Blais]

Well the way I've heard it told, the three types of plantings are:

1. The really old 1-3 row patamares with the hand-built stone walls.
2. Newer and wider socalcos which can handle 10-20 rows per terrace.
3. The newest vinha ao alto or vertical plantings.

One could easily argue that there is a 4th type, however, because of the difference between modern patamares and the old hand-made ones. The modern ones are made by bulldozers and so don't have stone walls separating them vertically - just very steep banks.

I'll find the picture and get it uploaded one of these days...

The 10-20 rows per terraces are in fact pretty old terrases and not built any more because of the non-optimal sun exposition(thought I heard Noval wanted to build more in the Douro, not sure if they started yet). Patamares are nowadays the bulldozed "terrases" like Terra Feita and not hand built anymore .

I think it is good to note that even ghough vinha ao alto has its advantage, it also has some disavantage. The 2 main ones are erosion and water retention. The soil is loosing a lots of nutrients and water that terrases would normally help to retain. In extreme condition like the Douro region and the drought we are experiencing, these vineyards suffer more than others from these extreme conditions.

[Frederick Blais]

This is Panascal from the other side of the road. You can see the old terrases at the bottom, then patamares and above Vinha ao alto.

[Glenn E.]

The 10-20 rows per terraces are in fact pretty old terrases and not built any more because of the non-optimal sun exposition.

Yes, well "newer" is relative. The old patamares (often called traditional patamares) were being built 400+ years ago. Socalcos are newer than that, but that's not to say that they are modern. Their stone walls were built by hand, too, after all. If I remember correctly, socalcos pre-date phylloxera and really haven't been built since. And since the word "patamares" just means terrace, it technically applies to socalcos as well.

Use of bulldozers to build modern patamares started in the 1960s. Vinha ao alto planting started in the 1980s, I think, but I'm really not sure about that.

[Frederick Blais]

Use of bulldozers to build modern patamares started in the 1960s. Vinha ao alto planting started in the 1980s, I think, but I'm really not sure about that.

I think there was earlier experimental Vinho ao alto, but as popular use, 80's sounds right.

[Roy Hersh]

For accuracy sake: Jorge Roquette was experimenting with Vinha Ao Alto at Quinta do Crasto back in the 1970s.

Modern patamares are almost always built by bulldozers and vines planted by dynamiting the schist. They were created to provide either a 2 or 3 row plot with more space between rows to provide greater exposition to the sunlight.

It is a darn shame that so many Moratorios exist today and are not replanted. I realize it would be quite expensive to do so, but some of the land and specific vineyard locations are pretty amazing and I just wonder if these will ever be retilled and used. I realize there is almost a strange "unspoken" vibe about these dead vineyards that were decimated in the latter quarter of the 19th century.

By the way, the majority of the hand building of terraces took place in the 18th and 19th centuries by workers from other European countries who were starving for work. Rebuilding the terraces of the Douro today would be far more difficult than fixing the economy of the world.

[Frederick Blais]

It is a darn shame that so many Moratorios exist today and are not replanted. I realize it would be quite expensive to do so, but some of the land and specific vineyard locations are pretty amazing and I just wonder if these will ever be retilled and used. I realize there is almost a strange "unspoken" vibe about these dead vineyards that were decimated in the latter quarter of the 19th century.

By the way, the majority of the hand building of terraces took place in the 18th and 19th centuries by workers from other European countries who were starving for work. Rebuilding the terraces of the Douro today would be far more difficult than fixing the economy of the world.

Because today the Douro is protected by UNESCO, you can't destroy a terrace. I'm sure some does as there is no police from UNESCO but terraces are one of the reasons why the Douro is so special. So if you can't destroy one, you can only repair it if you want to plant back vines on them. For the moment, most are hosting olive trees that are harvested by the locals or owners.

Most of the workers were from Spain actually. Today the Portuguese laugh at it because it was built like slaves work and today the Spain is so much richer than Portugal.

[Roy Hersh]

Yes Fred, to be more specific, they were workers predominantly from Galicia.

For the moment, most are hosting olive trees that are harvested by the locals or owners.

Speaking of specifics ... I don't think the word "most" is accurate for the Moratorios throughout the entire Douro. "Some" ... or even "lots", yes, that we can agree to. Someone needs to give you a hard time once in awhile.

[Frederick Blais]

Speaking of specifics ... I don't think the word "most" is accurate for the Moratorios throughout the entire Douro. "Some" ... or even "lots", yes, that we can agree to. Someone needs to give you a hard time once in awhile.

Ahaha no worries, I appreciate that we help me choose better words, so I can improve my English

[Roy Hersh]

Now if only I would take the time to learn to speak Portuguese! :help: