Lleida Wine Route Association: wine tourism, culture and heritage
Lleida Wine Route Association
The Wine Route Association of Lleida is an autonomous organism that brings together initiatives from both the public and private sectors to promote and enhance sustainable and high-quality wine tourism in the lands of Lleida.
From north to south
The Association brings together municipalities, county councils, associations, tourist offices, wineries, restaurants, thematic establishments, and tourist accommodations, forming an attractive and diverse tourist offer closely linked to the world of wine.
Members of the Lleida Wine Route Association
Members
Of the Wine Route of Lleida
Quality wines
To speak of Lleida is to speak of wine. The innovative wineries that today dot the Lleida landscape have their origins in a long and ancient tradition.
Although the first indications of grape cultivation date back to the Iberian period, it was the Romans who introduced vine cultivation, which reached its peak in the 19th century with nearly 120,000 hectares of vineyards and an export vocation that was thwarted by the phylloxera plague from North America. This plague devastated Europe and between 1895 and 1909 reduced the vineyard plantations in Lleida to 15,000 hectares.
However, far from abandoning cultivation, the wineries of the lands of Lleida chose to introduce new grape varieties and reshape the viticultural map of Lleida.
This innovative spirit is reflected today in charming wineries where the most modern technology and the generational tradition of vine cultivation offer delightful wines as diverse as the territory covered by the Wine Route of Lleida.
D.O. COSTERS DEL SEGRE
The wineries that make up the Wine Route of Lleida produce their wines under the protection and certification of the Designation of Origin (DO) Costers del Segre.
Divided into seven sub-zones, the production area of the DO ensures the quality of wines from vineyards growing in calcareous soils, under a Mediterranean climate with continental influences, featuring cold winters and hot summers.
PRODUCTION SUBZONES
Artesa de Segre, Urgell, Garrigues, Pallars Jussà, Raimat, Segrià, and Valls de Riucorb. Average temperature: 13.8ºC Rainfall: 385-450 mm Sunshine hours: 2,800 hours per year
RECOMMENDED BLACK GRAPE VARIETIES
Black Grenache, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Trepat, Carignan, Pinot Noir, Syrah
RECOMMENDED WHITE GRAPE VARIETIES
Macabeu, Xarel·lo, Parellada, Chardonnay, White Grenache, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat of Alexandria, Malvasia or Subirat Parent, Gewürztraminer, Albariño
AUTHORIZED WHITE GRAPE VARIETIES
Albariño, Muscat of small grains
PRODUCTION
Maximum production: 120hl wine/ha
Planting density: 1500-4500 vines/ha
Maximum yield: 75l must or wine/100kg grapes
Alcohol content (%vol.): White: 10.5-14.5 Red: 11-14.5 Rosé: 10.5-13.5
Quality sparkling wine: 10.8-12.8
Traditional liqueurs: 15-22
Prickly wine: 10-12.5
Quality gastronomy
GASTRONOMY
Quality
The wineries that make up the Wine Route of Lleida produce their wines under the protection and certification of the Designation of Origin (DO) Costers del Segre.
Divided into seven subzones, the production area of the DO ensures the quality of wines from vineyards growing in calcareous soils, under a Mediterranean climate with continental influences, featuring cold winters and hot summers.
Tourism and natural and monumental heritage
TOURISM AND HERITAGE
Natural and monumental
As you pass through the vineyards, the Wine Route of Lleida offers a magnificent journey through a unique natural and monumental heritage. Traces of the various peoples who inhabited these lands and of a culture deeply rooted in the landscape, remnants of past eras coexist in a range of diverse landscapes.
If you want to complement your stay among wineries and vineyards with a tour of the most outstanding monuments of the Route, don’t miss visiting: The Vilars of Arbeca – remains of the ancient Iberian settlement -, the majestic Seu Vella of Lleida, the Cistercian monastery of Vallbona de les Monges, the monastery of Les Avellanes, or the castle of Verdú, among others.
If you prefer natural spaces, approach the olive fields of Les Garrigues or the natural landscapes of Montsec and La Terreta. Admire every stretch and curve of the Route because, as you delve into it, the plain and the mountains, the cultivated fields and the pastures, the cities and towns… will offer you a changing landscape.
