been produced in the region, for a long time little of it was seen outside the region itself. The Port lodges were focused on the production and export of Port wine, which was their unique product on the export market, and had little interest in other wine styles. Thus, while the wines could be good, for a long time, there was no attempt to use Douro grapes to produce more ambitious table wine. The person credited with creating the first ambitious Douro wine is Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, who worked as an oenologist with the Port house Ferreira. He visited Bordeaux during World War II, which gave him inspiration for creating a top-quality table wine. The wine Barca Velha, first produced in 1952 using grapes from Quinta do Vale de Meão situated in the Douro Superior subregion, was the result. Barca Velha didn't immediately get many followers, since most Port wine houses remained uninterested in non-fortified wines for a long time. A few more ambitious Douro wines made their appearance from the 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s when a large number of wines made their appearance. A contributing factor was Portugal's entry into the European Economic Community in 1986, which meant that the Port lodges' monopoly was abolished, thus paving the way for producers in the Douro valley to produce and bottle their own wine - Port or dry Douro wines. At this stage, several Port houses also introduced Douro wines into their range. The Douro winemaking region was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001. Geography and climate The Douro wine region is situated around the Douro river valley and lower vallies of its tributaries Varosa, Corgo, Távora, Torto, and Pinhão. The region is sheltered from Atlantic winds by the Marão and Montemuro mountains and has a continental climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. It is usually subdivided into three subregions, from the west to the east: Baixo Corgo ("below Corgo"), a subregion with the mildest climate and most precipitation. It has of vineyards. Although it is the subregion which was planted first, in general, it is considered to give wines of lesser quality than the other two subregions. Cima Corgo ("above Corgo") is the largest subregion with of vineyards, centered on the village of Pinhão, and where the majority of the famous Quintas are located. Douro Superior ("upper Douro") is the hottest