Fairtrade wine carries the FAIRTRADE Mark licensed by the Fairtrade Foundation in the the UK, an arm of Fairtrade International. That mark tells you the grapes were grown and traded to Fairtrade Standards, with protections on price and workers’ rights and with an extra, ring-fenced community payment called the Fairtrade Premium. In wine this matters because vineyards often rely on seasonal labour and thin margins, and without protections both small growers and hired workers can struggle to make a decent living.
For wine, Fairtrade certification has two parts. First, there are social standards for either small-producer co-operatives or larger estates that employ workers (the “Hired Labour Standard”), covering wages, freedom of association, health and safety, and protection when handling agro-chemicals. Second, there are trade standards that require physical traceability of the certified grapes through the supply chain. A bottle carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark must be made from Fairtrade-certified grapes.
Fairtrade sets minimum prices for wine grapes and an extra payment called the Premium. The Premium goes into a fund run by workers or co-op members for community and development projects.
South Africa is by far the largest source of Fairtrade wine, joined by Argentina and Chile, with smaller volumes from places such as Lebano. Styles range from crisp Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc to Malbec, Pinotage, Cabernet and rosé. In South Africa alone, industry data published in August 2025 indicates about 8% of the country’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified and around fifty companies are certified to produce or trade Fairtrade wine.
What difference does it make on the ground? The Premium is the main mechanism. In Argentina, the La Riojana co-operative has used it for clean-water infrastructure and to co-fund a local secondary school at Tilimuqui. In South Africa, producers such as Bosman Family Vineyards and Stellar have channelled Premiums into clinics, crèches, transport, youth programmes and training. These are typical of how the money is meant to work. Producers choose the projects, publish minutes and auditors check the governance.
How to spot and buy it in the UK? Look for the FAIRTRADE Mark on the front or back label and you’ll find bottles in UK supermarkets and convenience stores. Well-known producers include Argentina’s Alta Vista, Bodega Argento and La Riojana; Chile’s Emiliana, Lautaro, Red del Vino and Vidseca; and South Africa’s Bosman and Perdeberg. Use the Fairtrade category to see wines I have previously mentioned across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Co-op.
The Co-op has been the category’s long-standing champion and, in early 2022, moved its entire South African own-label range to Fairtrade. The group has repeatedly been described as the world’s biggest Fairtrade wine retailer by volume. This makes sense as the Co-op has a matching ethos. The UK drinks roughly twenty million litres of Fairtrade-accredited wine a year.
It’s worth being clear about what Fairtrade does and doesn’t cover. Fairtrade is not the same as organic. It focuses on fair pricing, workers’ rights and responsible environmental practices, while organic certification focuses on how the grapes are grown. That said, there is a lot of overlap. Fairtrade actively encourages organic farming and many Fairtrade wines are also organic. Fairtrade also maintains a Hazardous Materials List and detailed health-and-safety requirements to limit and control pesticide use and protect workers, including training and provision of protective equipment.
Read the Fairtrade tasting for more insights and some recommended wines.
