If you’ve or a friend has gone vegan, you might be wondering if wine is vegan. The answer is no, not in all cases. Some wine is vegan, but whether wine is suitable depends on two things; how the wine was made and the ingredients used to make it.
What is vegan wine?
Vegan wine does not use any ingredients taken from sentient beings, for example meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey. To be officially vegan, it must also exclude the exploitation of sentient beings from the wine-making process, since veganism is officially defined as a way of living which excludes, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
What makes wine not vegan?
The reason not all wines are vegan (or vegetarian) is often because of the way wines are clarified (making wine look clearer) using a process called fining. Traditional producers of wine have a variety of aids called fining agents to help them make wine clear and bright by acting like a magnet and attracting molecules left behind when young wines are made. This makes them easier to remove.
But the most commonly used fining agents are casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein), and none of these substances are vegan. Gelatin and isinglass are not even vegetarian. That means some wines are not suitable for those who live a vegetarian lifestyle, and even more are not suitable for vegans.
The molecules left behind in unfined wine are all natural and in no way harmful, which means the clearing of them is purely for cosmetic purposes. Today, many winemakers use clay-based fining agents like bentonite, which are excellent for fishing out unwanted protein (without using actual fish!) and make wines suitable for vegans. Activated charcoal is also vegan and vegetarian friendly.
Where can I buy vegan wine?
This can be difficult because winemakers are not legally required to list their ingredients on the bottle. Even if they do, the chances are they won’t list what fining processes they use, so, without an online search, it is sometimes almost impossible to determine if a wine is vegan or not unless you email the manufacturer. And who has time for that? Not us.
Supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons do stock vegan wines, but they’re not often labelled because they are, by definition, ‘accidentally vegan’. This means they just happen to be vegan, so they’re often not marketed that way.
We’d recommend buying wine from a dedicated vegan wine seller, like VEO Wines. Our wines contain only vegan ingredients, do not use animal products as part of the fining process, and are made using organically grown grapes and organic wine production methods.
Are sulphites vegan?
Yes, sulphites are vegan. Sulphites occur naturally when grapes ferment, so no wine is completely sulphite free, but the adding of additional sulphites, which are used to preserve the wine, is not permitted in organic wine making. That’s a good thing, because many people attribute the dreaded wine headache to the addition of sulphites.
How to tell if wine is vegan
It’s difficult to tell if wine is vegan. Most wines do not include their ingredients or production methods on the bottle, and even internet searches often stump up differences in opinions online. Barnivore, a vegan drink and food website, often ask retailers directly if their wines are vegan and list the latest information alongside the date on their website, but things change quickly in the food and drink industries (I know vegans remember that time Jammy Dodgers suddenly had butter in them again! Hello, 2016.)
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Is wine vegan?
If you’ve or a friend has gone vegan, you might be wondering if wine is vegan. The answer is no, not in all cases. Some wine is vegan, but whether wine is suitable depends on two things; how the wine was made and the ingredients used to make it.
What is vegan wine?
Vegan wine does not use any ingredients taken from sentient beings, for example meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey. To be officially vegan, it must also exclude the exploitation of sentient beings from the wine-making process, since veganism is officially defined as a way of living which excludes, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
What makes wine not vegan?
The reason not all wines are vegan (or vegetarian) is often because of the way wines are clarified (making wine look clearer) using a process called fining. Traditional producers of wine have a variety of aids called fining agents to help them make wine clear and bright by acting like a magnet and attracting molecules left behind when young wines are made. This makes them easier to remove.
But the most commonly used fining agents are casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein), and none of these substances are vegan. Gelatin and isinglass are not even vegetarian. That means some wines are not suitable for those who live a vegetarian lifestyle, and even more are not suitable for vegans.
The molecules left behind in unfined wine are all natural and in no way harmful, which means the clearing of them is purely for cosmetic purposes. Today, many winemakers use clay-based fining agents like bentonite, which are excellent for fishing out unwanted protein (without using actual fish!) and make wines suitable for vegans. Activated charcoal is also vegan and vegetarian friendly.
Where can I buy vegan wine?
This can be difficult because winemakers are not legally required to list their ingredients on the bottle. Even if they do, the chances are they won’t list what fining processes they use, so, without an online search, it is sometimes almost impossible to determine if a wine is vegan or not unless you email the manufacturer. And who has time for that? Not us.
Supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons do stock vegan wines, but they’re not often labelled because they are, by definition, ‘accidentally vegan’. This means they just happen to be vegan, so they’re often not marketed that way.
We’d recommend buying wine from a dedicated vegan wine seller, like VEO Wines. Our wines contain only vegan ingredients, do not use animal products as part of the fining process, and are made using organically grown grapes and organic wine production methods.
Are sulphites vegan?
Yes, sulphites are vegan. Sulphites occur naturally when grapes ferment, so no wine is completely sulphite free, but the adding of additional sulphites, which are used to preserve the wine, is not permitted in organic wine making. That’s a good thing, because many people attribute the dreaded wine headache to the addition of sulphites.
How to tell if wine is vegan
It’s difficult to tell if wine is vegan. Most wines do not include their ingredients or production methods on the bottle, and even internet searches often stump up differences in opinions online. Barnivore, a vegan drink and food website, often ask retailers directly if their wines are vegan and list the latest information alongside the date on their website, but things change quickly in the food and drink industries (I know vegans remember that time Jammy Dodgers suddenly had butter in them again! Hello, 2016.)
The best way to make sure you’re getting a vegan wine is to buy your wine from a seller like us >