Vegan Party Time - How About Some Vegetarian Wine?

Wine, by definition, typically contains only grapes, yeast, and a small amount of sulphites (some are are added and some are created during fermentation). But unbeknownst to most, many wine producers introduce very tiny amounts of substances that are not acceptable to vegetarians and vegans.

Most wines are made clear by adding clarifying or fining agents which remove proteins, yeasts, and other organic particles. Left in, these impurities can denature the wine making it unpalatable to drink or cause the wine to become cloudy or have loose sediment floating around. These fining agents are separated from the finished product and only minute traces if any are left in the finished wine.

While some clarifiers are earth-based, such as bentonite (a type of clay), many are animal-based. Common animal-based agents include egg albumen, casein, chitosan, gelatin, isinglass, and even cows blood (cows blood cannot be legally used as a clarifier for US or French wines). Gelatin is produced by prolonged boiling of animal skin and connective tissue (see the entry below regarding marshmallows) and isinglass is prepared from the bladder of the sturgeon fish.

While Kosher wines may be more likely to avoid the use of the animal-based clarifying agents, not all do so. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations stated that a wine could theoretically be certified as Kosher if it contained egg whites or if the gelatin was completely removed from the final product.

Winemakers are not required to include on the label which clarifier is used since it is removed from the final product. So how do you know if your favorite wine is vegetarian-friendly or not? It takes some searching but there are many excellent choices at all price levels. Check out the Vegans Are From Mars Wine Guide to see if your favorite wine made the list or browse the list and experiment. Another option is to select only wines that are labelled as "unfined" or "unfiltered" (a category that is gaining popularity in the US).

My overall favorite (I define "favorite" as tastes good, is widely available, and does not cost an arm and a leg, or a "hoof and a drumstick") is Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon (note that only red wines from Yellow Tail are vegan because their white wines use gelatin in the finishing process).