"This year there should be a 20% to 30% increase in the Dão, depending in the varietal of grape", the UDACA president, Fernando Figueiredo, told Lusa News Agecny, anticipating production of 12 to 15 million litres in the cooperative sector and 30 to 35 million litres in the region as a whole.


Despite fears that the maturity could be affected by the lack of rain, recent rainfall has ensured “good maturation” he said.


"The rain has helped with the maturation and the trend is that the picking will be brought forward to early September", Fernando Figueiredo said, adding that he expects a “good harvest” this year.


The Dão region covers about 376,000 hectares in the districts of Coimbra, Guarda and Viseu.