The Region

The Fontelas village is located in the municipality of Peso da Régua, on the right bank of the Douro river. Caldas do Moledo, part of this parish, is an old spa used for the treatment of muscular, bone, respiratory and skin diseases. It was here that D. Antonia Adelaide Ferreira, known as the "Ferreirinha", came to rest.

Fontelas is situated about four kilometers from Peso da Régua and its history begins on the 30th of October 1116, when D. Teresa, daughter of Afonso VI, granddaughter of Ferdinand I, distributed lands to trusted nobles. Amongst these lands appears Fontelas, which was donated to Govendo Álvares and his wife Auzinda Mendes. Govendo (Gozindo) Álvares becomes, thus, absolute master of Fontelas.

The name "Fontelas" comes from the Latin derivation of "fontenella", which means "little spring".

One of the symbols of the town and the region is the quality of its wines (Port wine), as the oldest and best wines that retain and reveal the secrets of the earth.

The Douro region received its first demarcation in 1756, from the hands of the Marquês de Pombal, acquiring over the years a distinguished place amidst the regions. One of the greatest wine-producing regions in Portugal and also considered one the most beautiful landscapes in the world, the Douro presents itself as a large Amphitheatre of shale and vineyards.