The Douro Demarcated Region spreads along 250.000 hectares along the Douro River basin. A powerful river with 927kms since its spring in Picos de Urbión until it meets the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Porto. In its way it passes by several wine regions, being the Douro Demarcated Region the most impressive with its deep valleys and narrow canyons. The soils are mainly derivative from schist, with a granite geologic formation in its borders. The region has very cold Winters and very hot and dry Summers. Due to the wide variety of micro-climates, the region is divided in 3 sub-regions that differ greatly from each other in terms of temperature, rainfall, dimension of the property, planted area, etc.: Baixo-Corgo, Cima-Corgo and Douro Superior. The Douro was the first region in the world to be demarcated, back in 1756.