Vegan and Vegetarian
As people become more conscious about what they eat and where it comes from, there has been a rise in demand for vegan and vegetarian wines. You might think that as wine is made from grapes, it is already vegan and vegetarian friendly - unfortunately not. The reason that all wines aren’t vegan and vegetarian friendly is a result of the clarification process known as ‘fining’. During the winemaking process, youthful wines contain high volumes of molecules ranging from yeasts and proteins to tartrates and tannins that although are not harmful, cause the wine to be hazy. As a result, traditional fining agents are used such as casein (milk protein), albumin (egg white), gelatin (animal protein), and isinglass (fish bladder protein). Don’t worry, there are non-animal derived ways to clarify wines such as bentonite, limestone, carbon as well as plant casein.
The majority of wines produced today are in fact vegan, but they don’t always specify on the label. Regulations in the UK do not currently require producers to list fining agents on labels so it can be difficult to figure out if a wine is vegan or vegetarian by looking at the label alone. Our vegetarian and Vegan wines will be marked as such on our website and in our brochure.
