It would be completely logical to believe all wine is vegan friendly? After all, what could be more vegan friendly than a drink made from crushing and or pressing grapes you have picked from your vines to extract the juice before adding yeast to this juice to ferment the grapes into wine?!

In response to the explosion of veganism many restaurants and wine bars have begun marketing wines as vegan. As consumers become more conscious transparent wine making processes are absolutely key and should be celebrated across the industry allowing consumers to have all the information to hand before they make a purchase decision. The problem is that lines are still a little blurred as to what makes wine vegan and producers do not currently have to declare fining agents used in their winemaking process or whether they have used a horse to plough their vines.

Vegan wine defined

Our definition of a Vegan Wine at EWWines is either certified by the producer on the label (look out for an approved symbol as in the image above) or a wine that we have had confirmed by the producer has not been fined, or come into contact with any animal or dairy product during the winemaking process. Browse our full vegan wine range and we also have a new vegan mixed case - a great selection of 6 wines from across Europe.

What is fining and why fine wine?

Fining is an essential process in most winemaking used to remove any unwanted elements in a wine, but it is not for everybody. Ultimately time is money so by adding a fining agent a wine maker speeds up the precipitation of any suspended solid material in the wine which the consumer may not appreciate.

Fining is an ancient gentle process which when used properly can undoubtable improve a wines quality and stability in bottle - i.e. the wine will not undergo any undesirable changes in the bottle ensuring its future drinkability; which are important for all consumers!

Why fine wine? By adding a fining agent to the wine, a winemaker can easily remove the haze these particles cause (considered a fault in white wine) as well as any undesirable aromas, colour and bitterness before filtration and bottling. Fining agents are not considered additives as they do not stay in the finished wine but we will not go down any rabbit holes in this blog! We firmly believe in transparency and consumer choice.

Image credit Star Chefs

It should also be said that some great wines are produced without any fining or filtration. All wine will naturally fine over time. The particles will sink to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Very few wineries have the luxury of time, it is important to utilise space in the tanks and winery and get wine to market as quickly as possible to improve business cashflow. Correct fining can reduce or even eliminate the need for filtration which is a much harsher process. Another benefit of fining is harsh tannins can be removed or become silkier and more “polished” by the fining process depending on which agent is used. However, fining can’t be used to correct over extraction of tannins during the winemaking process, attentive winemaking is still necessary!

Which fining agents commonly used are not vegan friendly?

There are currently four proteins commonly used as fining agents which are not vegan friendly;

• Casein (milk protein) - used mainly for fining white wine to reduce the level of phenolic compounds associated with bitterness and browning.
• Albumin (egg whites) - most popular in high quality red wines, a gentle process which respects the polyphenolic structure and ensures stability whilst removing harsh tannins and clarifying the wine. Because albumin is an allergen, it must be declared on the label in the EU if present above a certain level in the final wine.
• Gelatin (animal protein) - used to reduce tannin bitterness in red wines or browning in white wine. The smallest quantity must be used as it is easy to over fine with gelatine, stripping flavour and character from the wine.
• Isinglass (fish bladder protein) - gives a brilliantly clear wine whilst having little impact on texture and bitterness (compared to Gelatin) therefore generally used for a final “polish” in white wines.

They are not considered additives to the wine as they are removed after fining, however tiny traces may be absorbed into the wine during the winemaking process and the products are all based on animal products regardless. Winemakers use laboratory tests to ensure that the minimal effective amount of any agent is used in their wine before the process is undertaken but if any of these four agents were used it would make the wine unacceptable for vegans by our definition. However, for vegetarians' casein and albumin are perfect fining agents and widely used. This is the key difference between vegan and vegetarian wines.

Alternatives fining agents

Many winemakers are using alternative fining agents such as bentonite clay, pea protein, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) or activated charcoal making the wines vegan and vegetarian-friendly.

Bentonite is a good all-around clay-based agent generally mostly used for white wine fining. It is perfect to remove protein haze and very good at correcting protein instabilities without influencing the flavour or texture of white wines. It leads to some colour loss in red wines and creates a lot of sediment therefore wine is lost during racking which naturally increases the price. PVPP is an insoluble plastic powder gentle fining agent which preserves wine aroma normally used for colour reduction in oxidised white wines. Most commonly it is applied after activated charcoal as it helps with clarification of the carbon particles.

Best solution for vegan wines

Hopefully you haven’t been lost in the technicalities above! To conclude which agent is best from a vegan perspective for the highest quality, fault free wine possible we would suggest depends on the winemaker and the style of wine they are producing. For white wine bentonite is a sensible option because it is effective without removing flavours or texture. For red wines, the best option is to allow the wine to precipitate naturally in maturation vessel before racking once clarified. If the luxury of time is not an option, then the winemaker must choose and weigh up their fining options carefully.

Further research

At EWWines we are passionate about transparency and have researched our wines and can give you many great vegan options both for our trade customers and in-store and we are very happy to convey the information so you can be 100% confident with your wine choices.

If this has left you thirsty for more information on winemaking or wine in general. Our WSET certified wine school has courses running through the autumn. Book your course today!

Alternatively for a comprehensive vegan directory check out http://www.barnivore.com/ to clarify (see what I did there!).