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What is vegan wine?
We’ll clear things up!
Classic wine is not a vegan product. This information astonishes many people. We explain the background and provide information about alternative processes for vegan wine production.
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Reading time approx. 3 min
Why is traditionally produced wine not a vegan product?
Wine is made from grapes and is initially a purely plant-based product. Additional additives only come into play in the cellar. In traditional winemaking, animal products are used in the further processing. They serve to "clarify" the liquid. Cloudy and suspended matter, which mainly come from the grape skin, are filtered out during the so-called "fining". This is done with the help of added ingredients, the so-called fining agents. This prevents streaks and improves the storage capacity, stability and taste of the wine.
In the long tradition of wine production, animal proteins and other substances of animal origin are used in addition to mineral earth for this fining process. These substances are therefore not vegan.
Good to know:
In terms of taste, there is no difference between wine from traditional production and vegan wine.
What animal ingredients are hidden in wine?
When the must or mash has fermented, the "fining" takes place - both for red and white wines. The fining agents are mostly of animal origin. They are replaced by alternatives in the production of vegan wine. These are the following fining agents:
1. Casein and lysozyme
Casein is a protein preparation. It is extracted from skimmed milk and is used to clarify tannins and colorants. It can be used to make white wines lighter. Lysozyme works in the same way.
2. Isinglass
Isinglasses are dried and finely ground fish bladders from catfish, sturgeon or beluga. This substance makes it easier to filter the wine.
3. Albumin
Albumin is a chicken protein. It is extracted from eggs and harmonizes the taste and color of the wine. Eggs are the oldest fining agent in traditional winemaking.
4. Gelatin
Gelatin is obtained from the cartilage and bones of animals. It clarifies wines effectively.
5. Chitin
Chitin is extracted from crustaceans, fish and insects, and fungi also provide this substance. Chitin reduces microorganisms, proteins and heavy metals in the liquid. This makes the wine clear. The individual aromas come out more strongly.
Remember:
Many fining agents that help clarify wine are mostly of animal origin.
What alternative processes are used to produce vegan wine?
Vegan wine production does not use any ingredients of animal origin. These are also not used in the entire production process. Vegan wine is therefore a purely plant-based product. Winemakers can use mineral and plant substances to refine the wine and replace the animal products.
Some wines, especially white wines, are generally vegan ; in most cases they are only treated with the mineral clay bentonite.
Red wines produced vegan can easily be treated with fining agents that are not of animal origin and whose use does not affect the taste.
Clarifying agents without animal origin:
- Bentonite
- Activated carbon
- Vegetable gelatin
- Vegetable protein from peas, potatoes and beans.
Did you know?
Another vegan method for clarifying wine is the traditional but time-consuming sedimentation . Here, the winemaker does not use any kind of aids. He simply waits until the suspended and cloudy particles sink and settle on the bottom of the barrel.
How can you recognize vegan wine?
Looking at the list of ingredients is not enough. Production materials of animal origin do not have to be declared. But more and more winemakers are labelling their vegan products with quality seals :
V-Label of the European Vegetarian Union
Red and white wines without animal ingredients and additives may carry this label.
Vegan Flower from the Vegan Society England
All ingredients used in the products are produced without animal testing.
Vegan label of the vegan society Germany eV
Not only the product, but also the packaging is free of animal ingredients.
Did you know?
Vegan wine is not automatically a product of organic viticulture. In organic wines, the cultivation of the grapes differs fundamentally from conventional wine cultivation. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are not used here. Organic or eco-wine is usually labeled with the EU organic logo.
Summary
- Vegan connoisseurs do not have to forgo aromatic wines.
- Chicken egg white has been used for centuries in traditional winemaking to remove suspended solids.
- Animal ingredients in wine production can be replaced by plant-based substances without additional effort.
- Vegan wine is clarified by plant and mineral fining agents.
- Different quality seals on the bottle are used to identify vegan-produced wines.
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