Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana is recognized at the Green Awards, this time for “Organic Initiative of the Year”

As part of the 2025 Green Awards—the most prestigious awards in the global beverage industry for sustainability—Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana, the world’s largest organic winery, was honored in the “Organic Initiative of the Year” category. The recognition was for its vermicomposting project, a pioneering initiative that combines regenerative agriculture with the circular economy on a large scale, spanning from Ovalle to Mulchén.

This recognition follows an award presented by the same magazine last year, honoring Sebastián Tramón as “Green Personality of the Year,” setting a precedent for Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana’s actions and commitment to continuing on the organic path. 

Turning waste into life

The winning vermicomposting project, currently in its second full season of implementation (2024–2025), operates using seven worm bins spread across its seven 100% organic fields. With an active surface area of more than 112 m², the system uses earthworms to process organic matter and produce high-quality natural fertilizers, such as humus tea, which are then returned to the soil through irrigation.

What sets this initiative apart from global competitors is Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana’s collaborative and social model. Its most significant actions included collecting organic matter—such as fruits and vegetables discarded by local small-scale farmers and at farmers’ markets—as well as incorporating horse manure from rural neighbors, organic waste from the vineyard workers themselves, and the reuse of byproducts from the grape harvest, such as pomace and grape stems.

Thanks to this effort in partnership with local communities, the world’s largest organic vineyard has also managed, in recent months, to enrich more than 4.5 million kilograms of compostable materials with humus waste generated after tea production, thereby reducing waste and returning microorganisms to the soil that are vital for the vineyards’ resilience to climate change. This vermicomposting project is adapted to Chile’s geography: while humus tea is applied in the northern and central valleys, in the Biobío region the leachate from the process is collected for direct injection, with application targets of up to 3,000 liters per hectare.

A standard for regenerative agriculture

The initiative is not merely a fertilization method; it is a strategic response to the current challenges facing agriculture. A significant part of the challenges facing the agricultural sector today revolves around the soil. It is vital to seek new ways to increase organic matter, improve soil structure, facilitate fertilization processes, boost soil biodiversity, and more—through the implementation of new ideas and techniques. 

Our day-to-day work in the fields demonstrates that we are willing to take risks to innovate and embrace change in order to remain leaders in organic, regenerative, and biodynamic agriculture. “This award recognizes our ultimate goal, which is to nourish and improve our soils. It represents a significant step toward more resilient agriculture, where the recovery of organic waste is key to both environmental sustainability and productivity,” said Sebastián Tramón, Sustainability Manager at Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana. 

The jury praised the winery’s ability to implement a nature-based solution across all its operations, demonstrating that waste management can become a driver of agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.

“This award is a tremendous recognition for us and reaffirms that we’re doing things right. It encourages us to continue believing in this type of agriculture and to make the most of the resources and tools at our disposal to improve our vineyards. “Here you see teamwork; you see the simplicity of a project that generates significant impacts,” commented Antonia Castillo, Technical Manager of the Agricultural Department at Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana.

Recognizing sustainability

The Drinks Business: Green Awards seek to recognize best practices and, in doing so, promote new initiatives, inspiring other industry players to adopt more sustainable approaches to production. This year’s edition featured nine categories, and the world’s largest winery was named a finalist in three of them: 

• “Eco-Friendly Company of the Year,” where it placed second; the “Amorim Biodiversity Award,” also in second place; and “Agroecological Launch of the Year,” where it placed third.

• Organic Company of the Year: The Drinks Business made special mention of the sustainability roadmap developed this year by Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana—“The Future Is Organic”—which earned them second place on the podium. They highlighted the winery’s commitment to maintaining 100% of its vineyards with organic certification, covering 1,150 hectares with an annual production of 12 million liters.

• Amorim Biodiversity Award: Recognizing more than 1,000 hectares of vineyards and 834 hectares dedicated exclusively to biodiversity; the Los Robles premium wine estate was highlighted as one of the 36 global biodiversity “hot spots.”

• Agroecological Launch of the Year: Following the launch of its low-alcohol Adobe wine—a challenge in organic agriculture—the winery ranked third for innovation in its wine portfolio.