It's World Vegan Day today (1st November) - an opportunity to drink wine, as it's vegan, right? Er… not exactly. Whilst many people would think that wine is simply a bottle of fermented grape juice, there are aspects of the production process that can - and often does - use animal products.
In terms of a definition, a vegan wine is made without the use of any animal products, whereas a vegetarian wine is made without meat, or in other words, animal parts (as opposed to animal by-products)
How are animal products used?
In wine production, the process of "fining" means products are used to act as a filter for organic particles in the wine. Such particles need to be filtered out as they may be detrimental to the flavour, texture, colour or appearance. The products used will also be filtered out of the end product, so you won't have bits of egg floating in your glass of malbec.
Types of product
In wines, that are neither vegetarian nor vegan, the following products can be used in the fining process;
Fish bladder (Isinglass)
Gelatine
Blood
Bone marrow
In wines that are vegetarian, the following products can be used in the fining process
Egg white (Albumen)
Milk protein
Fish oil
Shellfish fibres (Chitin)
For wines that are vegan, the following products can be used in the fining process
Bentonite Clay
Silica Gel
Plant proteins
Limestone
How can I tell if my wine is vegan?
Unfortunately there are no rules around declaring the wine vegan when labelling. Supermarkets are also poor at shouting about it on the shelves, so you normally have to turn to online sources to help you out here.
There is however, a very good (and up to date, website - www.barnivore.com. This site has nearly 50,000 entries of booze products and thanks to a search facility you can easily enter a wine's name and find out whether it is suitable for vegans or not.
Retailers' websites are sadly inconsistent. We reviewed the following sites to see how easy it was to find out whether a wine was vegan.
ASDA - Will say on product details if the wine is suitable for vegetarians / vegans (but not if it's not)
SAINSBURYS - Will say on product details if the wine is suitable for vegetarians / vegans (but not if it's not)
TESCO - Will say on product details if the wine is suitable for vegetarians / vegans (but not if it's not)
MORRISONS - Will say on product details if the wine is suitable for vegetarians / vegans (but not if it's not)
ALDI - Has a section on the website dedicated to vegan wine, but does not list on individual product details
LIDL - Brought out a small vegan range in 2018 but it's not clear if these wines are continued to be stocked. Does not list on individual product details
WAITROSE - Will say on product details if the wine is suitable for vegetarians / vegans, although found to be inconsistent in places.
MAJESTIC WINE - Poor - Not mentioned on product details. No ability to search or filter.
WINE SOCIETY - Have a list of vegan wines on their website
M&S - Can filter to show vegan wines on the website but does not list on individual product details
CO-OP - Can filter to show vegan wines on the website but does not list on individual product details
Which brands shall I avoid if I'm vegan?
The following brands all produce wines using animal products:
Barefoot
Brancott Estate
Campo Viejo
Cono Sur
Cloudy Bay
Dark horse
Echo falls
Faustino
Gallo
Hardys
Isla Negra
Lindemans
McGuigan
Mud House
Oyster Bay
The Ned
Villa Maria
Wolf Blass
Yellow tail
That wipes out many of the big brands in the supermarkets, but there are a few that are safe for vegans:
Oxford Landing
Beronia
Stellar Organics
Co-op's own branded Fairtrade range
And the following have a few quirks;
Errazuriz - The RED wines are vegan, the white wines are not
Casillero del Diablo - The RED wines are vegan, the white wines are not
Cune - All are vegan except the CRIANZA (That's a shame as it's a favourite of ours here at Grapevine Towers!)