The Douro begins as a geological and natural construction, which has been inscribed in a territory surrounded by mountains, a grandiose river, its tributaries and the sweeping winds of its mountainous surroundings.

It is in the combination of mountains, tectonic movements, rivers, streams and sloping hillsides that man first settled down and inscribed his art on the ancient billboards of the Côa Valley and then evolved, modified and intervened in the territory until he built the most astonishing of the world’s wine-growing landscapes.

The foundation of Real Companhia Velha in 1756 began a period of profound change in the landscape, in which man inscribed order, geometry, modernity, knowledge, a dream and an ambition. And so began the construction of gigantic terraces, a mixture of suffering, beauty and overwhelming grandeur that are currently one of its main attractions, based on the built landscape, contemplation and nature.