La Riojana and Fairtrade

La Riojana is the largest producer of certified Fairtrade wine in the world. We became Fairtrade accredited in 2006 becoming the first winery in Argentina to do so. 

In 2013, we went one step further and were certified as an organisation of small producers under the OPP (Organización de Pequeños Productores) scheme. 

For which certification at least half of our members have to be small-scale producers and at least half of the wine volume sold needs to come from these members. 

But under our OPP certification 100% of our production and our growers are Fairtrade certified. 

The Fairtrade certification not only means our members (growers) benefit from the guaranteed purchase of their grapes at the Fairtrade minimum price, it also means our members, workers and their families, as well as the local communities, are able to benefit from the investments of the Fairtrade premium in both social and economic projects.  

La Riojana has, however, followed the central principles of the Fairtrade movement long before being officially awarded Fairtrade certification in 2006. 

Since Italian migrants first founded the co-operative in 1940, the majority of members have always been small-scale farmers. Each member has also been offered a number of benefits, including the guaranteed purchase of grapes at fairer and higher prices; access to credits; free technical assistance; collective hail insurance; and the distribution of profits.