Santa Marta de Penaguião

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Why is Santa Marta de Penaguião so special for wine lovers? You might think it’s just another charming town in the Douro region of Portugal. But hidden in plain sight is a story that changed the fate of wine forever. Santa Marta de Penaguião sits proudly within the Douro Wine Region. It became a municipality all the way back in 1202 thanks to King Sancho I. But centuries later, the region faced a crisis. Wine exports, the lifeblood of the area, were plummeting. The quality had dropped due to unscrupulous mixing with wines from outside the region. Enter a local hero, Friar João de Mansilha, in the 18th century. He, along with the powerful Marquis of Pombal, convinced King Joseph to establish the “Companhia Geral de Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro” in 1756. This company set strict quality standards for wines produced in the region, the first “Denominação de Origem” in Europe. This marked the birth of what we now know as “Vinho do Porto” or Port wine, a name synonymous with quality and prestige. So, as you stroll through the picturesque streets of Santa Marta de Penaguião, remember, you’re walking through the birthplace of a wine revolution.

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