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Vegan wine: what are vegan wines?
We’ve realised that customers feel a bit confused whenever we talk about vegan wine: Vegan wine? But doesn’t wine come from grapes? And so, isn’t all wine vegan? Well no, not all wines are vegan wines, even though they do indeed all come from grapes.
We talk about vegan wine when we’re referring to the wine suitable for consumption by people who follow a vegan diet. I.e. a diet that excludes any trace of animal origin in the food. But the vegan culture goes beyond diet. It can be defined as a lifestyle that extends the rejection of products of animal origin to any habit of consumption.
Having clarified this, let’s talk about the wines. Because wine, being a product made from fermenting grapes, should be a product completely compatible with a vegan diet. And yes, it would be if it weren’t for the fact that at the end of the wine-making process the wine is clarified. This is a “cleaning” process by means of which any possible remaining impurities from the grapes or from the yeasts are eliminated before the wine can be bottled.
This clarification is often done with products of animal origin. Egg white is usually used. Or isinglass, from fish tails. Sometimes casein, a protein derived from milk, is also used. Or gelatin, almost always obtained from fish cartilage.
In order for a wine to qualify as vegan wine, it has to be bottled without clarification. Or if it is clarified, this needs to be done with clarifiers that are not of animal origin. Certain proteins from vegetable sources, such as potatoes or wheat, are usually used. Carrageenans, from marine algae, are sometimes used. It’s also common to use bentonite, a clay powder that is often used in white wines.
In Spain there is no specific legislation that defines the requirements that a wine must meet to be qualified as vegan wine. Some wineries try to certify their wines through independent bodies that certify that no ingredient derived from animals has been used during its preparation.
So now you know, not all wine is vegan wine. Although they all come from grapes ;)
