There are over 80 grape varieties grown in the Douro valley. Most are old vines jumbled together within the same vineyards and are indistinguishable from one another. There are however, five varieties acknowledged as having best adapted to the region and which make the finest Port. Listed in order, from the most popular to the least, they are: - Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional (considered the finest), and Tinto Cão.
Douro is a Portuguese wine region centered on the Douro River in the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region. It is sometimes referred to as the Alto Douro (upper Douro), as it is located some distance upstream from Porto, sheltered by mountain ranges from coastal influence. The region has Portugal's highest wine classification as a Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC). While the region is associated primarily with Port wine production, the Douro produces just as much table wine (non-fortified wines) as it does fortified wine. The non-fortified wines are typically referred to as "Douro wines". Alto Douro was one of the 13 regions of continental Portugal identified by geographer Amorim Girão, in a study published between 1927 and 1930. Together with Trás-os-Montes it became Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province. The style of wines produced in the Douro range from light, Bordeaux-style claret to rich Burgundian-style wines aged in new oak
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Dessert wines are usually any sweet wine drunk with or around a meal. White fortified wines (fino and amontillado sherry) are usually drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines (port and madeira) drunk after it. Most fortified wines are regarded as distinct from dessert wines, but some of the less strong fortified white wines, are regarded as honorary dessert wines. In the United States a dessert wine is legally defined as any wine over 14% alcohol by volume, which includes all fortified wines.
