OF INTEREST

[Nick Lagrega]

1-Finally, it was in the 18th century that deliberate development of the Douro region as a wine growing region began in earnest. Up until this time, Régua was considered the heart of the region, and vineyards stretched east only as far as Pinhão; now it was being expanded towards Tua, and work began to clear the rapids at Valeira, allowing easier and safer access to the Douro Superior. The Visconde de Villa Maior, who wrote a classic book about the Douro in 1876, claims his own grandfather was the first to plant vines at what is now Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos in the late 18th century.