THE TRUTH ABOUT VEGAN WINE
“One of the easiest ways to tell if a wine is vegan is to hold it up to the light. If it’s cloudy, it’s vegan!”
“IS THIS WINE VEGAN?” The short answer is yes, the wine you’re drinking most likely is, because the use of animal products is rare in winemaking today. If there is any contact with animal products, it most likely occurs just before bottling, when winemakers choose whether to filter and/or fine their wines.
These are optional and serve two functions. Filtering improves clarity by removing yeast particles, or “lees,” a natural byproduct of fermentation. Fining is the addition of a substance that increases stability and binds to tartaric acid, which, at low temperatures, can create tartrates, small glassy crystals that are also called “wine diamonds.” While harmless, they’re unpleasantly crunchy. Non-vegan fining agents include casein (which is derived from milk), albumen (egg white), gelatin (animal bone) and isinglass (fish bladder), but none have been commonly used since the 1990s. They’ve largely been replaced by organic materials—such as bentonite clay, copper sulphate and activated carbon—which are cheaper, plentiful and more sustainable. While most wines today are filtered and fined to some degree, the expectation of a crystal-clear pour is changing with the recent surge in interest in natural wines, which are more likely to be cloudy, since they’re often left unfined and unfiltered to retain the character of the grapes and where they were grown.
Because of this, one of the easiest ways to tell if a wine is vegan is simply to hold it up to the light. If it’s cloudy, it’s definitely vegan! (If it’s not, it’s probably still vegan.)
Most importantly, there’s no proof that vegan wine tastes better, nor does it ensure that the wine is ethically or sustainably made. Seeking out only certified-vegan wines would mean missing a world of progressive, environmentally attentive wines that consider local biodiversity, as well as more traditional styles of wine from makers who have been adopting organic viticulture. Ultimately— much like anything to do with wine—deciding which bottles make it to the table is a highly individual choice.