Viseu, Portugal, Aug. 28, 2026 (Lusa) - The Viseu Dão Lafões Intermunicipal Community (CIM) announced on Friday the second edition of «Dão Portas Abertas», to be held on 11 and 12 September, during which the wine estates will present a programme of events that are open to the public.
The second edition of «Dão Portas Abertas», taking place on 11 and 12 September, is held «right in the middle of the grape harvest season, and invites visitors to discover the Dão region through its wines, producers, cuisine, music, culture and wine tourism experiences», announced the executive secretary of CIM Viseu Dão Lafões.
Nuno Martinho said that it is «also an opportunity to showcase the very best the Viseu Dão Lafões region has to offer, as well as the very best each municipality has to offer individually», and that this is the result of «joint networking efforts between various organisations» and the 14 municipalities within the CIM.
This networking, he added, «has been the region's main strength» and «is the very essence of the CIM's work in the field of tourism, but also in other thematic areas», spanning «different national and European contexts».
For the CIM, «the success of these territories is due to the ability to work together and in a network» between institutions, municipalities and other public and private bodies, «always with a view to complementarity».
This approach has borne fruit, as the Viseu Dão Lafões region is «experiencing a boom in tourism, with growth of over 7.6% in the first half of the year compared with the previous year».
In the same period, the region «saw growth of over 5% in guest numbers and overnight stays», he noted, with «very strong growth in total tourism revenue, which demonstrates the vitality and activity of the Viseu Dão Lafões region».
The president of Turismo Centro Portugal, Rui Ventura, said that the Dão region «manages to achieve something extraordinary, which is to open its doors and showcase its wines, the stories of the estates that tell the region's history, and highlight the innovation that has taken place in the wine sector».
Central Portugal has five demarcated wine regions, and it is «everyone's duty to work towards creating a wine route in Central Portugal – which is precisely what this region is already doing», maintained Rui Ventura.
«The wines from this region have brought it a great deal of prominence, which local councils can then complement through initiatives and the efforts of local authorities, as has been the case», he emphasised.
Rui Ventura also highlighted that in June the Viseu Dão Lafões region «recorded a 20% increase in overnight stays» compared with the same period last year, and that the 14 municipalities within this Intermunicipal Community (CIM) «outperformed the Central region as a whole, with a 7.3% increase in tourism.» The Mayor of Viseu and President of the CIM, João Azevedo, praised the event and added that, together with partners such as Turismo Centro and the Dão Regional Wine Commission (CVR), they are keen «to develop their own guide so that those who are far away can, with just one click, understand how to get to the region».
The event features eight producers with estates across five municipalities in the region: in Nelas (four producers), Carregal do Sal, Mangualde, Sátão and Viseu.
Representatives from the estates, present today at the Feira de São Mateus, where the event was launched, announced the programmes, which can be viewed on the official website of CIM Viseu Dão Lafões, and highlighted «unique moments, with unmissable initiatives» such as the tasting of «unique and historic wines that are available only at the event».
They praised the initiative and its «importance for the sector» – not only for wine but also for tourism and the promotion of «the quality of Dão wine and the region» – and, although this weekend is different, they pointed out that «it is possible to visit» these venues «at any time».
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