🍷 Vegan wine
Also known as: vegan-friendly wine
Wine clarified without egg white, gelatin or other animal products.
Vegan wine is wine whose clarification used no animal products. The wine itself is made from grapes, but at the end it is cleared of haze, harsh tannins and protein. Egg white, gelatin, milk casein and fish isinglass were often used for this.
Vegan wine uses other substances instead. These are bentonite, a special clay; pea protein; and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, a synthetic material that picks up excess phenols. Sometimes the wine is not fined at all and is left slightly cloudy.
That is why the label carries a "vegan" mark. Such wine is close to organic wine, but the two are different: organic concerns how grapes are grown, vegan concerns how wine is cleared. For people who avoid animal products it is a simple way to choose a drink. Like any alcohol, wine is best drunk in moderation. If in doubt, look for a "vegan" mark on the label or ask the producer.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Vegan wine → kind of → 🌿 Organic and natural wines → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Next step
- 🍷 Bentonite, 🍷 Pea protein fining
- Previous step
- 🍷 Casein (fining agent), 🍷 Egg white fining, 🍷 Isinglass, 🍷 Gelatin fining, 🍷 PVPP
- Part of
- 🌿 Organic and natural wines
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Organic wine
- Wine and milk
- 🧪 Casein, 🌱 Soy milk
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that animal-free wine is the same as organic wine?
Not quite. Organic concerns how the grapes are grown; here it is about how the wine is cleared.
Why might a bottle not suit people who avoid animal products?
Egg white, gelatin, milk casein and fish isinglass were often used to clear it.
What can replace those fining agents?
Bentonite clay, pea protein or PVPP; sometimes the wine is not fined at all and stays slightly cloudy.
What to read next
- 🌱 Soy milk — A plant drink made from soybeans: 2.86 g of protein per 100 g, and an EU Court of Justice ruling bars the word "milk" on its packaging in the EU.
- 🍷 Casein (fining agent) — A milk protein that removes brown colour and bitterness from white wine.
- 🍷 Egg white fining — Whipped egg white softens the tannins of red wine in the cask.
- 🍷 Pea protein fining — A plant protein used instead of egg and milk for fining.
- 🍷 Gelatin fining — Animal gelatin removes excess harsh tannins.
Similar
🍷 Natural wine · 🍷 Kosher wine · 🍷 Sacramental wine · 🍷 Organic wine · 🍷 Sulfite-free wine
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.
Sources
- OIV, International Code of Oenological Practices
- Wikidata Q7918359
- OIV International Code of Oenological Practices