Porto hosts General Assembly of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network

Porto hosts the General Assembly of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, which currently comprises nine cities and their respective wine regions: Adelaide (South Australia), Bilbao (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Cape Town (South Africa), Mainz (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), S. Francisco (USA), Valparaiso (Chile) and Porto (representing the Portuguese Wines from the Douro, Porto and Vinhos Verdes in this network).

Working meetings between the delegations of each country, will run until June 10 and will end with the awards Best Of Wine Tourism 2017 to distinguish excellence in wine tourism in seven distinct categories - Architecture and Landscape, Art and Culture, Innovative Experiences in Wine Tourism, Lodging, Vineyard Services, Sustainable Practices and Wine Restaurants.

The general assembly decided this year to extend the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, by integrating the Italian city of Verona, increasing to ten the wine regions represented.

The General Assembly of Porto gives the public and stakeholders who are part of the sector the opportunity to meet with great experts from the world of wine and wine tourism; a conference will be held at the auditorium of the Almeida Garrett Library, on the theme Wine and Nature with the presence of renowned speakers, who shared their experience and perspective on the importance of sustainable practices in wine production and the impact of this strategy on the consumer. Among those present were 13 journalists from various countries, specialists in the sector.

Opening the conference, the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, stressed the importance of the event to the city saying that "the five days of the General Assembly have been planned with the goal of providing unique experiences in terms of knowledge sharing and giving you information on the city spirit. As a world heritage site and capital of the Northern region of the country, Porto is known by its hospitality, gastronomy, wines, natural beauty and the passion that it gives to all initiatives".

Several panels dedicated to wine and nature took place in the morning. Joshua Greene, editor and journalist for Wine & Spirits magazine, said he was most pleased with the region. "For me, the Douro is one of the most amazing tourist attractions in the world."

The second highlight of the conference is scheduled for tomorrow, 8 November, at 8 p.m., at The Yeatman Hotel, where an international wine tasting will be held.