📍 Costers del Segre

Costers del Segre is a wine appellation in inland Catalonia, around the city of Lleida in north-eastern Spain. The name means “slopes of the Segre river”: vineyards lie along the river and its tributaries, on plains and foothills. The appellation was created in 1988 and consists of several separate zones that do not touch each other.

The climate is dry and continental: summers are hot, winters cold and rain scarce. Many vineyards are irrigated, and nights are cool, so the grapes keep their acidity. The well-known Raimat zone belongs to the wine house Codorníu, one of the first to plant international grapes here. The zones differ: foothills such as Artesa de Segre are higher and cooler, while the Segrià plain is hotter. The Lleida area is also known for fruit orchards, and vineyards sit beside them.

Grapes include the reds Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha and the whites Macabeo, Chardonnay and Parellada. Red, white, rosé and sparkling wines are made.

For comparison with its neighbours: to the east, closer to the coast, lie Penedès and Priorat, to the west Somontano in Aragon, and to the north the Pyrenees.