Alto Douro Portugal – A Sculpted Wonder
The Alto Douro region in northern Portugal, commonly called the Douro Valley, is a sculpted wonder to see. What allows the Alto Douro to stand out in contrast to other amazing locales in the world?
The steep hills, deep valleys and snaking rivers are incredibly awe inspiring on their own. Yet, it’s the artistic sculpting and geometric imagery adorning the steep valley hills that sets it apart in the world. Centuries of passionate manual labour sculpted this wave-like vision of the Alto Douro.
Cycling the vineyard covered hills with Macs Adventure, frequently our bikes come to a halt at the beauty before us.
The Alto Douro is also known for its production of port. This unique fortified wine has been popular since its inception in 1756, following designation as the world’s first formal demarcated wine region.
And all these attributes are due to the love of wine through the ages.
So let’s go back in time.
The Alto Douro History
The Alto Douro has seen human habitation since the Middle Paleolithic age (some 90,000 years ago), with further evidence of settlement in the Upper Paleolithic age (22,000 years ago), and the Neolithic age (10,000 to 6,000 years ago). Continued settlement from the Chalcolithic age (4000 years ago), presented the first evidence of grape vine introduction into the region.
The Romans
But it was the Roman occupation beginning in the first century CE (common era) that began the wine evolution in the Alto Douro region. Their methods of redefining land use and economic methodologies aided in the cultivation of vines and olive trees.
The transformation of the Alto Douro region from steep rocky hillsides to terraced slopes with man-made soil, began the burgeoning wine industry in the region.
The man-made soil (known as aric anthrosoil) was created by manually breaking down the thinly laminated metamorphic schist rock covering the slopes into small pieces of schist. This helped retain water and allow vine plants to root. In order to mitigate erosion of the newly created soil, stone walled terraces are created using the same schist rock to offer flat surfaces for the vines to grow on.
The Roman Empire, with its vast territories and trading routes, introduced wine from the Douro region to other parts of the empire.
The Others
Following the fall of the Roman Empire, several other empires occupied the Douro region including the Germanic Suevi (5th century CE), the Germanic Visigoths (6th century CE), the Moors (from 7th to 10th centuries), and Spanish rule (11th century) as part of the Reconcuista. Portugal gained independence in 1139 with formal Spanish recognition in 1143.
Throughout all these centuries and occupations, the Douro wine industry remained an economic force that all appreciated. This helped to create and expand the geometric patterns that remain on the steep hillsides of the Alto Douro to this day.
In 2001, the Alto Douro became a World Heritage site due to the historical, cultural, and physical factors that make it so unique and amazingly beautiful.
The Douro Valley Terraces
Over the centuries, different terrace designs have been utilized to maximize grape production and reduce erosion. Five main systems have been designed to deal with the challenging terrain.
Socalcos
The original terraces, called ‘socalcos’, have high stone walls made from the schist rock that dominates the landscape. This allows for flat vineyard surfaces. Typically, these flat surfaces only accommodate one or two rows of vines. They are very labour intensive to build and maintain but are still the best terrace design to mitigate erosion. These terraces followed the contours of the hills.
Enlarged Socalcos
In this version of terrace (initiated at the end of the 19th century), the stone walls are lower with larger, sloping planting surfaces. This design allows more rows of vines and allows mechanized systems for ploughing (originally with mules and horses). This hybrid type of socalcos is more prone to erosion due to the sloping surfaces, but grape production is better.
Patamares
In the 1980’s, two-row patamares develop. For these terraces, earth banks are built, replacing stone walls. This allows for significantly more mechanization and simpler construction. As the earthen banks are very susceptible to soil erosion, patamares are no longer a vineyard technique.
Single-row Patamares
The narrower, single row patamares allows room for small machinery to pass. Planting the vines away from the outer edge to gives more protection from the sun. However, erosion is still a big issue with this terrace design.
Above 35% slope grades this is still the modern model for Douro terrace design, as they are much less expensive to build than socalcos and can allow for modern machinery.
Vertical System
Although not a terrace by definition, this vineyard design has the rows of vines going up and down the slopes rather than along the contours of the slope. This system is limited to slopes under 35% grade due to erosion issues but allow for more vine rows as there are no banks or walls taking up space. The challenges are still erosion as gravity is king, and the use of tractors is challenging on steeper slopes.
All in all, the combination of these different types of terrace systems has created magnificently geometric patterned hillsides throughout the Alto Douro.
The Alto Douro region in northern Portugal, commonly called the Douro Valley, is a sculpted wonder to see. What allows the Alto Douro to stand out in contrast to other amazing locales in the world? The steep hills, deep valleys and snaking rivers are incredibly awe inspiring on their own. Yet, it’s the artistic sculpting…
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