More than 500 growers protested this morning in Régua against cuts in Port wine production. They accuse authorities imposing the cuts of failing to monitor the entry into Portugal of Spanish wine. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (Douro and Port Wine Institute) has ruled that production must fall by 14,000 barrels this year. The reason being “too much wine” flooding the market. The upshot however will be hundreds of families severely out of pocket. It will not even be worth them harvesting the grapes, as they will have no one to sell them to, complain growers. The loss in financial terms to the Douro region could reach €26 million euros.
