Portugal’s Douro Valley, home to the country’s Port production, has been named as this year’s European City of Wine, despite not technically being a city, the Drinks Business reports.
The Douro, as it is more commonly known, is actually a rural region, rather than a city, named after one of Portugal’s main rivers, and also one of its world-famous viticulture territories. The valley meandering in the north of the country has become synonymous with port wine, and it is in fact the only place which can legally name its production that way.
The Douro Valley is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site.
“All Around Wine, All Around Douro” is the motto used by Douro for the 2023 European Wine City contest and it was among the many features that impressed the jury so much that it awarded the Portuguese region the coveted title.
The Douro Intermunicipal Community (CIM Douro), a local administrative division in the region, has said it has “dozens of initiatives” planned throughout the year “to show the Douro to Europe”.
“With this distinction as European City of Wine 2023, the Douro cherishes the legitimate desire for the region to be a major contributor to national exports, to make wine and vineyards a concrete and real lever for the development of its economy and the wealth of those who live and work here” CIM Douro said in a statement.