Planting Methods
Roughly two thirds of the Douro Valley’s planted area is located on rocky hillsides with a gradient of over 30%. One of the main challenges is therefore to create a stable, flat surface on which to plant the vines.
Until the early years of the 20th century, this was done by constructing dry stone walls and then back filling them with soil to create stable terraces. The soil, consisting of a mixture of fine soil and fragments of schistose rock, was excavated from the hillsides or brought up from the banks of the river. These walled terraces, rising in tiers up the steep slopes of the valley, are now classified by UNESCO as world heritage.
Today the cost of building these handmade structures would be prohibitive. On steeper slopes they have been replaced by 'patamares', terraces carved out of the hillsides using earth moving equipment and separated by tall earth banks. On gradients of up to around 30%, an increasing number of vineyards have been converted to 'vinha ao alto', a planting system in which the vines are laid out in perpendicular rows running vertically up the slopes. You can see both methods in the photo. This alternative method is said to improve natural irrigation.
Planting Methods
Roughly two thirds of the Douro Valley’s planted area is located on rocky hillsides with a gradient of over 30%. One of the main challenges is therefore to create a stable, flat surface on which to plant the vines.
Until the early years of the 20th century, this was done by constructing dry stone walls and then back filling them with soil to create stable terraces. The soil, consisting of a mixture of fine soil and fragments of schistose rock, was excavated from the hillsides or brought up from the banks of the river. These walled terraces, rising in tiers up the steep slopes of the valley, are now classified by UNESCO as world heritage.
Today the cost of building these handmade structures would be prohibitive. On steeper slopes they have been replaced by 'patamares', terraces carved out of the hillsides using earth moving equipment and separated by tall earth banks. On gradients of up to around 30%, an increasing number of vineyards have been converted to 'vinha ao alto', a planting system in which the vines are laid out in perpendicular rows running vertically up the slopes. You can see both methods in the photo. This alternative method is said to improve natural irrigation.