Douro winegrowers are warning of a possible ‘social catastrophe’ due to cuts in income and the benefit of Port wine, along with the impossibility of disposing of grapes. Avadouriense (the Association of Winegrowers and Douro Family Farming) together with the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) are planning a demonstration in August to protest over what they see as a possible further cut of 20,000 barrels in this year’s Port wine harvest. Said Avadouriense’s president Vítor Herdeiro, “what we’re asking for is for the government to introduce specific measures that allow export houses to keep the grapes from the winegrowers and for there not to be a cut of 20,000 barrels, which represents a cut of €20 million in the Douro Demarcated Region this year alone, apart from the 20,000 that were already cut three years ago, in other words, a cut of €40 million if this goes ahead…”
Douro wine growers fear “social catastrophe”
The Douro Demarcated Region is the sole source of subsistence for many local farmers and their families
