Costers del Segre means 'the banks of the River Segre'; the river flows down from the Pyrenees
and joins the River Ebro just south of Lleida (Lérida).

The DO is made up of seven districts surrounding Lleida. They bring together contrasting soils and climates and one of the longest and most varied lists of grape varieties of all the Catalan DOs. Les Garrigues shares some similarities with Montsant and Priorat - old vine Garnacha and Macabeo can be found here - whereas Artesa has more in common with Aragón’s Somontano to the west.

The driving force behind Costers del Segre was Raïmat, one of Spain’s largest single estates. It was developed according to a comprehensive agricultural plan instigated by Manuel Raventós which incorporated replanting vines and developing other crops during the most of the 20th century.

Further inland and drier than the more coastal areas, Catalan varieties didn’t thrive on the Raïmat estate, so Tempranillo and other international varieties were introduced and proved to be successful. This resulted in a truly international grape mix for the DO from the year of its creation onwards.