Winegrowers from the Douro region dumped grapes on the street today in front of the Wine Institute of Douro and Porto (IVDP), in a symbolic initiative organized by the Association Lutar pelo Douro to alert to the growing difficulties felt in the world's oldest demarcated and regulated wine region. Joaquim Monteiro, from this association, stated that "nobody wants to buy grapes, there is no price, we don't know what we will receive, a lot of grapes will remain on the vine," emphasizing that the problem is worsening year after year.
During this intensified harvest period, many producers still do not know to whom they will sell their grapes. Some have only secured the sale for the benefit, meaning the quantity intended for Port wine production, without knowing what to do with the remaining production. Joaquim Monteiro reported that there are companies that are not even buying the benefited grapes this year, both for the benefit and for the Douro Denomination of Origin Control (DOC).
The initiative aimed to draw the attention of IVDP and the Government, demanding urgent measures. One of the main demands is support for grapes for distillation, with different terms than those applied in the previous harvest. Parliament approved on July 17 a recommendation from the party Juntos Pelo Povo to create the "grapes for distillation 2026" measure, aimed at valuing wine surplus and protecting winegrowers' income, with the Government implementing this measure for the first time in 2025 with support of 50 cents per kilogram.
Joaquim Monteiro said that Douro winegrowers "feel they are abandoned," highlighting two fundamental problems: the existence of excess wine that circulates clandestinely through the region and very high production costs. Nevertheless, he stated that the general farming community "will only leave everything in disarray when they really have no money left."
