It may come as surprise to you, but the fact is, not all wine is vegan. And yes, while wine is fundamentally a fermented grape juice, its processing is what the ardent vegan will question. Most wine is clarified using fining agents during winemaking.
The fining process is done to remove proteins and other molecules from the wine and to make it clear. Here is an example of how it is done:
Some of the most commonly used fining agents include:
- Casein, that is derived from milk products
- Gelatin, a protein from hooves and bone
- Albumin, that is extracted from the egg white
- Isinglass, which is basically a fish protein
What are some of the options for the vegan?
Nowadays, there are vegan fining agents derived from carbon and clay such as bentonite, which is equally if not more effective in clearing unwanted particles from wine. The other option is to take wine made naturally without the fining process. A number of winemakers today have opted to leave the wine to stabilize instead of fining it. You can easily find these wines by checking out the wine labels for messages like “not filtered or not fined” on the packages.
Nowadays, there are vegan fining agents derived from carbon and clay such as bentonite, which is equally if not more effective in clearing unwanted particles from wine. The other option is to take wine made naturally without the fining process. A number of winemakers today have opted to leave the wine to stabilize instead of fining it. You can easily find these wines by checking out the wine labels for messages like “not filtered or not fined” on the packages.
Finding a vegan wine can, however, be complicated as it depends on whether wine processors provide information clearly on the package. To be safe, it is better to presume that any wine label lacking clear information is not vegan.
Some vegan wine brands we are sure about, that you could check out for include:
- Organic Vintners
- Fizpatrick Winery
- Thumbprint Cellars
- Organic Biodynamic Vegan Wine
- The Vegan Vine Wines
Are you into wine or rather juice?