Vila Real, Portugal, Sept. 15, (Lusa) - Douro Valley winegrowers in the north of Portugal who wish to access the €0.50 cent per kilo subsidy for grapes for distillation must submit their applications by 25 September, according to a decree published on Monday in the Official Government Gazette.
The measure is part of the action plan for the sustainable management and value enhancement of the wine sector in the Douro Demarcated Region, which was approved on 28 August by the Cabinet and published on 9 September in the Official State Gazette.
Today, the decree establishing the rules for supporting winegrowers who deliver grapes for the production of wine for distillation in the 2025-2026 wine-growing season was published. It comes into force on Tuesday and sets 25 September as the deadline for submitting applications (eight working days from the date of entry into force).
The ordinance is signed by the Minister of Agriculture, José Manuel Fernandes.
The plan includes the measure "grapes for wine for distillation," which aims to "ensure a minimum income for winegrowers" through support that will reduce wine surpluses in the Douro Demarcated Region, with support of 50 cents per kilo of grapes intended for distillation.
The document approved by the Cabinet stated that applications should be submitted by 15 September, but the deadline is now set out in the ordinance.
The budget allocation for the measure is €15 million from the state budget. Of this amount, €5 million comes from "chapter 60 - exceptional expenses", managed by the Treasury and Finance Authority.
In order to obtain support, a prior agreement must be signed between the winegrower, winemaker and distiller, the implementation model for which is determined by the Douro and Port Wine Institute (IVDP), and apportionment rules may be established if the available budget is exceeded.
The IVDP will communicate the quantity of grapes approved for distillation within eight working days of the date of application and will make payment by 31 December 2025.
Rui Paredes, president of the Douro region wine growers' association, Casa do Douro, regretted the delay in implementing the measure to support grapes for distillation, considering that this delay "may diminish its impact on producers".
"With each passing day, the impact this may have is less," he stressed, explaining that the plan "was already worked on in July" and "should have been operational before the harvest".
The Douro is already in full harvest, with farmers expecting a drop in production of up to 50%. The official forecast by the Vine and Wine Institute (IVV) points to a reduction in the harvest of around 20%.
The government plan was approved after complaints and warnings from producers that they were unable to sell their grapes or were having to sell them at low prices, while traders pointed to full stocks and falls in wine sales.
According to the resolution of the Cabinet, the Douro Demarcated Region faces a situation of persistent surpluses, with stocks in the region currently standing at 444 million litres, a variation of 9% compared to the average for the last five years.
Also published today in the Official Gazette was the decree-law approving the new status of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications of the Douro Demarcated Region.
This new status ends the minimum stock of 75,000 litres to start selling wine, introduces the category of Port wine vinegar and recognises Douro brandy as a protected geographical indication (PGI) - specifying that the production of wine brandies entitled to the Douro PGI must result from the distillation of wine from the Douro Demarcated Region.
Wine spirit is used for the production of Port wine.
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