Vila Real, Portugal, Oct. 11, 2026 (Lusa) - The government will provide €12 million in support to Douro winegrowers who have been unable to sell their produce and have left grapes on the vines, a measure aimed at mitigating the region's crisis.
Winegrowers in the Douro Demarcated Region (RDD) can access this exceptional support until Monday via an online platform launched by the Douro and Porto Wine Institute (IVDP).
Below are some questions and answers regarding the situation in the Douro wine sector and the Government's exceptional support:
+++ What does the government's support consist of? +++
The cabinet approved the exceptional scheme for RDD winegrowers on 4 September 2024, with a budget allocation of €12 million.
The government has explained that this measure is intended for vineyard areas which, during the 2026/2027 wine-growing season, are either wholly or partially left unharvested, and that the support takes the form of a non-repayable grant.
Individuals or legal entities who are winegrowers in the RDD, including members of cooperative wineries, are eligible to benefit.
The IVDP will pay the amount directly, based on the quantity of grapes left unharvested.
Ministerial Order No. 431/2026/1, of 15 September, which sets out the rules for granting the support, specifies that the aim is «to guarantee these winegrowers a minimum income, thereby preventing the abandonment of vineyards and the consequent degradation of the wine-growing landscape and the region's productive potential», which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.
To be eligible for the aid, winegrowers must keep the unharvested grapes intact from the date of application submission until the scheduled payment is made, which the IVDP will pay directly in a single instalment by bank transfer.
They must also allow access to the premises and documents necessary for the monitoring and control of the aid.
If applications exceed the €12 million budget allocation, the IVDP will apply a pro rata allocation; in other words, the individual amount will be reduced proportionally.
Once the application deadline passes on Monday, the IVDP has eight days to confirm the applications, the plots covered, the quantity eligible for support, and the support amount.
On 23 September 2026, the government published an amendment to the ministerial order, defining ‘non-harvest coefficient' as the value resulting from dividing unharvested production by the higher of the average reference yield and the average yield over the last five wine-growing seasons in the RDD.
It defines ‘unharvested production' as the difference between the average reference yield, calculated by the IVDP, and the quantity reported in the harvest and production declaration (DCP) for the 2026–2027 season, relating to plots situated in the RDD, expressed in kilograms per hectare.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Sea explained that this exceptional scheme for the Douro «forms part of a framework of measures to normalise the wine sector, safeguard economic, social and environmental sustainability, and protect producers and the cultural and landscape heritage of the Douro region», an area that has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for 25 years.
+++ What was the reaction from organisations in the RDD? +++
Shortly after the announcement of the exceptional support, Casa do Douro, an organisation representing producers based in Régua, considered that the measure «is the best available option», although «it could be improved».
Casa do Douro clarified that it supported the ‘grapes for distillation' scheme, similar to that implemented last year, which would help to remove surpluses by transforming them into brandy that could be blended into Porto wine.
The Association of Professional Winegrowers of the Douro (Prodouro), also based in Régua, distanced itself from the exceptional support, considering that this solution alone is insufficient to fully address the challenge of market outlets.
A key factor in Prodouro's stance was that the IVDP's Interprofessional Council, which represents production and trade organisations, had not approved the government's measure.
In the association's view, the measure offers partial compensation to producers for not carrying out the harvest, while leaving open opportunities to address key issues in managing surpluses, market balance, grape value and the economic sustainability of vineyards.
The ‘Lutar pelo Douro' Association, based in São João da Pesqueira (Viseu), stated that «any measures that benefit winegrowers are welcome»; however, it emphasised that this year's measure «is effectively flawed because it is far too late», as the Government announced it at a stage when the harvest was already in full swing and, as a result, many winegrowers had already chosen to sell their grapes at no price or even below the cost of production.
The leaderships of the PCP's regional branches in Bragança, Guarda, Vila Real and Viseu considered this an inappropriate measure that wastes unharvested grapes that could be used to produce brandy.
They warned that «the government is paying to let high-quality grapes rot, while the market imports musts and wines of inferior quality».
+++ How did organisations at national level react? +++
The National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) emphasised that the «extraordinary measure does not replace the structural measures that the RDD needs, starting with a ban on buying grapes below production costs, an increase in the benefit amount, the use of regional brandy in the production of Porto wine, and the creation of conditions enabling Casa do Douro to act to stabilise stocks and prices.
The Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP) welcomed the Government's measures for Douro winegrowers but warned the entire sector faces a crisis, calling for support to be extended to the whole country.
The organisation pointed out that the domestic market faces strong competition from the «massive influx» of often unregulated Spanish wine, sold at prices Portugal cannot match.
+++ When did the crisis in the Douro wine sector worsen? +++
For years, small and medium-sized winegrowers in the Douro Wine Region (RDD) have been calling for a fair price for their grapes, highlighting situations where they deliver grapes without a set price, i.e. without knowing how much they will be paid, and other cases where their income does not cover the high production costs.
The situation evolved in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and, in 2024, citing falls in sales and full stock levels, companies announced, before the harvest, that they would focus on meeting the ‘benefício' quota – that is, the quantity of must that each producer is allowed to allocate to the production of Porto wine – rather than entering the broader market.
Each pipa of Porto wine can represent an average of €1,000 paid to winegrowers, and the quota is one of producers' main sources of income in the Douro. The quota fell from 104,000 pipas in 2023 to 90,000 in 2024 and 75,000 in 2025, a drop of 29,000 pipas over three years.
This year, it rose by 1,000 pipas to 76,000.
Last year, the sector anticipated difficulties during the Douro grape harvest, but the harvest fell sharply to 178,000 pipas of wine (550 litres each), mainly due to mildew problems in mid-May and June and the abnormal heat and drought experienced in July and August, which mitigated the effects of the crisis, which has now worsened in 2026.
This year, winegrowers and associations in the region have highlighted the challenge of marketing the harvest and the need to secure fair grape prices, given the region's rising production costs. The Douro's mountainous terrain, characterised by steep slopes carved into terraces, creates unique logistical challenges for mechanisation and requires a skilled workforce that is increasingly in demand.
+++ Is the wine trade in the RDD in decline? +++
The sector's crisis has international implications, and global wine consumption fell 2.7% in 2025, reaching its lowest level since 1957.
In the Douro, the Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP) has highlighted the need for strategic adjustments in Port wine sales, noting a 30 per cent reduction in sales volume since 2000.
According to IVDP statistics, turnover from the Porto wine trade fell 10.2% to €134 million between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2026.
For the whole of 2025, turnover for ‘Porto' stood at around €365 million, 2% less than in the previous year.
Meanwhile, wines with the Douro Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC) accounted for €235 million in turnover in 2025, down 1.5% from 2024.
+++ What other measures have been implemented in the Douro over the last three years? +++ On 1 July 2024, the European Union announced it would allocate €15 million to support Portuguese wine producers facing serious market disruptions, as part of a €77 million package for four countries.
The government justified the support for wine distillation in the event of a crisis on the grounds of the surplus of wine on the Portuguese market, exacerbated by the approach of a new wine-growing season, combined with a fall in consumption and exports.
Of the €15 million in total funding allocated to Portugal, the Douro Demarcated Region received €4.5 million, while the remaining wine-producing regions received €10.5 million.
For the Douro, the IVDP, based in Peso da Régua in the district of Vila Real, made an additional national payment of up to €3.5 million available, drawn from the surplus of its own revenue in its budget.
The measure targeted producers, winegrowers, or winegrower-bottlers who sourced or marketed wine exclusively from Portugal during the 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 wine years.
In that year, around 10.7 million litres of wine went to distillation.
The following year, in August 2024, the government approved the action plan for the sustainable management and development of the RDD's wine sector, including the ‘grapes for distillation' measure for that year's harvest, designed to ensure support reached producers directly.
The measure had a maximum budget of €15 million, and, according to figures released in October last year, the IVDP received and assessed 2,607 applications.
The IVDP approved 2,046 applications, representing 2,024 winegrowers, for a maximum total of €3.6 million.
+++ What local authority measures are being put in place to help Douro
+++ winegrowers? +++
Sabrosa Municipal Council has set up a support scheme for small-scale winegrowers in the municipality, backdated to the 2024/2025 season, and it has already supported around 60 producers.
The scheme, launched by the municipality in the district of Vila Real, aims to alleviate difficulties in selling grapes and rising production costs.
Applications for this year's scheme are open and can be submitted until 31 December 2024; the local authority estimates that applications will be significantly higher this year.
The municipality of Alijó has announced it intends to introduce a tourist tax of two euros per overnight stay and two euros per arrival on hotel boats, to invest in tourism and support winegrowers in the Douro.
According to the local council, also in the district of Vila Real, 50% of the revenue from the tourist tax will go to the farmers, the «shapers of the landscape», who tend the vineyards, terraces and schist walls listed by UNESCO 25 years ago.
+++ What does the Plan for the Sustainable Management and Enhancement of
+++ the Wine Sector in the Douro Demarcated Region (RDD) entail? +++
The RDD is calling for structural measures for wine and vineyards, the region's main economic activity, and, to that end, the IVDP has drawn up a plan to be implemented by 2032.
The IVDP-coordinated government plan for the sustainable management and enhancement of the RDD wine sector was submitted to the Minister for Agriculture in July and aims to address structural imbalances in the wine sector, such as oversupply, pressure on grape prices and the economic vulnerability of winegrowers.
The document sets out as its main objectives a 20 per cent increase in stock volumes, a 10% to 15% annual increase in the average price of grapes, an increase in the income of small producers, a 10% increase in the value of exports, and the implementation of full digital traceability.
The plan has five strategic pillars and brings together economic, regulatory, institutional, environmental and promotional measures.
Among the measures is the introduction of an environmental sustainability and landscape enhancement levy, which could cover tourist overnight stays in the Douro River Valley (RDD), river cruises or trips on the historic train, with the revenue being channelled primarily to vineyard operators.
It also strengthens the promotion and internationalisation of Douro wines and the Douro as a destination through a multiannual programme with funding of around five million euros.
To support economic sustainability, the plan aims to implement a system of compulsory contracts for the purchase and sale of wine grapes, providing producers with predictability and price guarantees, with annual contract reporting to the IVDP for monitoring.
The plan also includes strengthening and modernising cooperatives and, to regulate supply, proposes a voluntary programme to reduce the RDD area, aiming to adjust the productive area by up to 5,000 hectares in marginally viable zones, along with a temporary pause on new plantings.
Regarding regional brandy, which many have called a solution to surplus production, the plan proposes a voluntary mechanism to use regional brandy in Port wine and to produce Douro Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) brandy.
The plan proposes an integrated approach that acts simultaneously on supply regulation, demand strengthening, economic sustainability, control and certification and innovation and environmental sustainability.
It includes measures for small and medium-sized producers, aims to improve the competitiveness of wine-producing estates and goes beyond wine as a product to enhance the landscape, heritage and international reputation of the ‘Porto' and ‘Douro' designations of origin.
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