Douro is home to "savagely beautiful" red wine
20th November 2008
Douro in northern Portugal is home to a "savagely beautiful, dusky, tannic, perfumed red wine".
That is according to Jane MacQuitty who has been reporting on the high, wild and mountainous vineyards that produce this unusual red wine.
Writing in the Times, it is clear that MacQuitty is a fan of the Portuguese grape which she explained did not really become popular until the mid-1990s.
She said that the lack of uptake was partly due to problems with transportation and by the nineties new equipment had "helped hugely".
The fact that the grape began to be planted in new single-variety vineyards that sat on riverside slopes contrasted well with those acidic grapes grown higher up.
Ms MacQuitty clearly believes the secret of Douro's taste lies in the location. She explains: "Nowhere emphasises the role that the soil, slope and micro-climate of a patch of dirt plays in defining the taste of the wines made there more than the Douro."
The Ribera del Duero is the wine region of the area.