Region :The Douro is a land that man married to the vine more than two thousand years ago. It has produced the ancestral Porto and the finest Douro wines. This is undoubtedly what led the Marquis of Pombal to make it the world’s first delimited wine-making region (appellation) in 1756.Its land, which is composed of schist and slate burnt by a sun that can reach 38°C, gives the local cultivars their ever so distinctive characteristics. The variations in altitude and orientation of the terraces (socalcos or patamares) shaped by gems of peasant engineering give the tannic or fruity tendencies of the nectar produced.The excellence and unique character of the landscape in the Upper Douro region were recognised and enshrined as part of the World Heritage by UNESCO in 2001. This classification of natural and cultural beauty reflects the ultimate recognition of work of generations that have laboured on this exceptional example of a traditional European wine-making region.