Wine is made of grapes. Grapes, by their very nature as plants, are vegan. So, I thought, like the naïve summer child that I am, that wine is vegan.
I was wrong.
Some wine is technically not vegan because animal-derived products are used in the process of making the wine itself.
Historically wine production took many months, if not years. As the particulate matter of the grapes settled to the bottom of the barrel, the wine naturally fermented and clarified itself over time. Many unrefined and natural wines are still made in this fashion to this day.
Modern wine production uses animal products to speed up this fermentation and clarifying process. This process is called fining. Fining smoothes out flavors, tannins, colors, and cloudiness. The most common non-vegan fining additives or “processing aides” include but are not limited to egg whites, casein (milk protein), gelatin (protein derived from animal bones), and isinglass (derived from fish bladders). These “processing aides” are removed before bottling, but they are used in the wine production process.
What is a wine-deprived temporary vegan to do? *Cue mid-Atlantic accent and dramatic swoon*
- Check the label! Wine producers are not required to disclose which processing aides they use to refine the wine. To be certain if a wine is vegan, check out the wine label. Any certified vegan product will communicate its vegan status on the label.
- Buy natural or unrefined vegan wines. Not only are they lower in added sugars and often sulfate and sulfite free but also purchasing natural wines often supports local, small wine producers.
- Do your research on vegan fining agents. Refined wines tend to be cheaper than natural wines. If you want to stick to a budget, do your research on the refined wine of your choice. There’s a chance the producer use vegan fining agents such as carbon, plant casein, bentonite and kaolin clay, limestone, silica gel, and vegetable plaques in the production process.
Happy drinking!
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