Vila Real, Portugal, Aug. 5, 2026 (Lusa) - In the Douro region of northern Portugal, the grape harvest is starting around one to two weeks earlier than usual, in a year in which a 25% increase in wine production is forecast for the region, according to industry associations.
«The earlier harvest is a fact; it is a reality we are witnessing, not only compared to last year, but also earlier than usual,» Rui Soares, president of the Association of Professional Winegrowers of the Douro (Prodouro), told the Lusa news agency on Wednesday.
In the region, some producers are already harvesting grapes for sparkling wines, and by next week, the harvest of white grapes is expected to begin on a more widespread basis.
«Last year's harvest was already early; this year it is even earlier than last year, which means that the grapes are actually ripening earlier than usual,» added Rui Soares.
He pointed to a harvest around a week earlier than last year, but, when compared with the regional average, we could be looking at an advance of almost two weeks.
«What we are seeing is that the grapes are ripening earlier than in previous seasons. We are looking at an advance of between eight and 15 days compared to the normal harvest date,» said Luís Marcos, director-general of the Association for the Development of Viticulture in the Douro (ADVID).
He went on to say that, given this earlier start, «it is likely that from next week, perhaps towards the end of the week, a more widespread harvest of white grapes will begin, particularly in the region's earlier-ripening areas where the grapes are maturing sooner».
The Douro is not a homogeneous region, so there are sub-regions where ripening is more advanced than in others.
Rui Soares said that there are a number of factors explaining this early start, in a year in which the growing cycle itself also began early.
«In other words, budbreak occurred early and this early start was maintained throughout the cycle. Flowering also took place earlier than usual, and veraison occurred earlier than usual; in short, all the phenological stages of the vineyard maintained this early progression,» he noted.
He explained that the «relatively mild weather» also contributed to this, noting only a few heatwaves in early July, as well as the water reserves resulting from a winter with generous rainfall.
«Therefore, the grapes were always growing comfortably. Mild temperatures, soil moisture – the vines never stopped; they were always growing, always producing their assimilates, and the earlier harvest is the result of this, of this combination of factors,» he emphasised.
The harvest begins with sparkling wines, for which less ripe grapes are required, followed by picking the earliest-ripening white grapes, such as Viozinho or Galician Muscat, then the rosé wines, and finally the reds.
Rui Soares also noted that a good-quality harvest is expected, emphasising that the «grapes look promising» at this stage.
ADVID's forecasts, published in July, point to an increase in production in the Douro region of around 25% compared with the production reported in 2025, which stood at 178,000 barrels of wine (550 litres each).
The Institute of Vine and Wine (IVV) also estimates that wine production for the 2026/27 season will reach a volume of 6.7 million hectolitres nationwide, 12% more than in the previous year, with the most significant percentage increases recorded in four regions: the Douro (up 25%), Alentejo (15%), the Setúbal Peninsula (15%) and Trás-os-Montes (15%), which together account for an increase of approximately half a million hectolitres compared with the previous season.
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