Not all wines are vegan friendly?

I have enjoyed wine for over a decade now and everything surrounding the wine culture.  I find it fascinating, as well as enjoyable!  The thought of discovering a new wine, a new aroma, a distinct hue makes it an adventure.  Let’s sip some vino!

One of the main reasons for the existence of this blog is to discover wines that are vegan friendly.  By vegan, I refer to the abstinence of using animal or animal-derived products.  Interestingly, not all wines are vegan!  Hold on, wines are made from fermented grapes or other fruits, so they are vegan, right?  Yes and no!  While wine is made from fermented grapes or other fruits, some wines are not vegan because of the clarification and stabilization process, specifically the fining agents used in the process.  Wines are typical subjected to both the use of fining agents and filtering processes.  Most filtering processes utilize equipment to remove unwanted deposits in the wine.  Fining wines is not a necessity, but it may improve the appearance of wine. 

The fining process may include the following animal-derived agents: casein, blood/bone marrow, chitin (crustaceans), fish oil, egg whites, gelatin or isinglass & others…  Ok, these fining agents are definitely not vegan! 

If you love wine and you are vegan as I am, don’t put your head down yet!  Based on extensive research, a lot of winemakers have started using natural processes to clarify and stabilize their wines.   This means using fining agents and processes not requiring animal-derived ingredients. 

Some of the vegan friendly fining agents include using kaolin clay, plant casein, silica gel, bentonite clay, carbon, limestone and other vegetable agents.  Also, some winemakers prefer not to filter their wine with fining agents, but rather use natural methods, which by default make them vegan-friendly.  Relief vegans, there is hope!

Join me in my adventure as I discover vegan friendly wines, as wine should be enjoyed by all!

Sip some more vino!!!