Hidden Animal Products Mean Not All Wines Are Vegan

As consumer awareness rises with regard to supply chains; human resource management; production processes; and the social, economic, and environmental impact of such, increasing calls for high quality, sustainable products are emerging. This trend can clearly be seen in the growing number of consumers seeking out vegan products in an attempt to promote animal rights and lower the industry’s associated carbon footprint.

Since animal products are currently in wide circulation, and are often even ‘hidden’ within everyday products – think butter in baked goods or vitamins B12 and D3 in fortified foods – for those seeking vegan alternatives, this task can be trying. In fact, not even wine, which most consumers would assume to be vegan, is immune from animal-product inclusion.

While wine is made from fermented grapes, many companies apply fining agents, including egg whites and gelatine, to bring about that clear, shiny look that wine lovers have come to expect. However, these animal products are not always listed as part of the ingredients as they are not technically additives; rather, they function as part of the distilling process. Despite not being counted as part of the final product, trace amounts of these elements still remain at the end of the process, thereby making most wine non-vegan.

Vegan wine, is, however, a rising phenomenon, with some wineries replacing animal-based fining agents with alternatives like bentonite clay or activated charcoal. Other companies are choosing simply to take the extended time necessary to allow their wines to ‘fine’ by themselves. While some such wines remain pricey, as the demand for these products rises, many vegan wines can now compete with their non-vegan counterparts in different price classes. As more consumers call for vegan wine, it may even be that the industry’s current practice of using animal products as part of their process will become a thing of the past.