An invitation to taste wines with Soul

Last updated 24 March 2022 In Features

More than 250 indigenous grape varieties have been planted in Portugal through centuries of winemaking history.

This is certainly the case in the Douro, one of Portugal’s most famous wine regions, with its steep slopes lining the banks of the river of the same name. With a total of 43.708 hectares under vine, this is one of the world’s most extraordinary wine regions, first formally acknowledged in 1756 when it became the world’s first demarcated area.

Soul Wines was founded with the aim of taking the wines from the Douro to the international stages and brings together the youngest generation of traditional Douro families, with a forward looking approach to winemaking. Their wines speak of the region’s terroir and history, made mostly from well-known indigenous Portuguese grape varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão and Tinta Roriz. Hot summers and cold winters deliver wines of great complexity and intensity, across a variety of styles, from traditional method sparklings to dry and Port.

The Douro region has three recognized subregions, each covering a section of the river as it flows from the Spanish border toward Oporto. The different climatic and geologic profile of each sub-region brings specificity, diversity and character to the wines, both still and fortified. Further inland, the Douro Superior is covered with terraced vineyards, takes up about 20% of the vineyard area in Douro and has the drier, more continental, climate. Cima Corgo (Upper Corgo) is the largest of the Douro’s three subregions, and accounts for almost half of the valley’s total area under vine. The steep vineyards of Cima Corgo are predominantly composed of schist with sizable granite deposits. Vines nearer the river tend to ripen much earlier than those at higher elevations, as the river holds warmth helping with ripeness. It is the main subregion for production of fortified wines – Ports and Moscatel. Baixo Corgo (Lower Corgo) is cooler and wetter, with greater Atlantic influence, occupies 30% of the vineyard area in the Douro and production mostly goes into the production of still dry wines.

SOUL WINES will present the diversity, authenticity and quality of the Douro landscape, expressed through the latest vintage of DOC and Port wines during events in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Be inspired by our passionate winemakers and register for one of the masterclasses led by Master of Wine Cees van Casteren.