Wait, All Wines Aren't Vegan? Here's Why

Whether it’s red, white, orange, or bubbly; sold in a bottle, a box, or a can; wine any which way is a spirited way to get the dinner party started.

When hosting a gathering that’s not specifically a wine-tasting party, we aim to offer a variety of grape varietals and body levels (which relates to a wine’s alcohol content and how “heavy” it lands on the palate). While we swear by that strategy, we often forget another often-overlooked aspect of wine that might dampen the mood if there are any vegans on the guest list: Not all wine is vegan.

pouring rose into a glasse — Rostislav_Sedlacek / Getty Images

In the event that you’re sharing wine with a crowd, it’s wise to consider this fact so you can pour with any plant-based pals in mind. So read on to learn more about why wine isn't’ always vegan. We also tapped a winemaker to share what it’s like to switch from conventional to vegan winemaking practices. Then, if you’re feeling inspired to add vegan brands to your wine cellar, we’re spilling some of our favorites (and asked sommeliers to add to the list!).

What Is Vegan Wine—And How Is it Different?

Wine is a drink made with grapes, so it would make sense that it’s naturally vegan. However, a certain aspect of winemaking may involve animal products.

“Fining” involves removing unwanted matter in the wine that can make it appear hazy or cloudy or that may lead to unpleasant aromas or bitter flavors, explains Brianne Cohen, a Los Angeles-based certified sommelier and wine educator.

“Many of the fining agents used can be animal products or byproducts. Things such as gelatin (which can include animal bones or cartilage), isinglass (fish bladders), egg whites, and casein (a dairy product). Vegan options include bentonite clay and pea protein,” Cohen explains.

Wine actually naturally clarifies itself during the maturation process. The natural fining process can take a long time, though, so some winemakers hit “fast-forward” by utilizing animal-based fining agents to remove particles to clarify and stabilize the wine at a quicker pace, adds Elyse Lovenworth, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based lead sommelier for the premium online wine shop and wine tasting experience Sommsation.

If you sample a vegan wine next to a conventional one, chances are high that you might not even notice the difference.

“There is no clear cut, consistent difference in flavor or aroma of a vegan wine versus a non-vegan wine. In the fining process, the fining agents used do not leave any aromas or flavors, so whether or not they are vegan shouldn’t matter in terms of the tasting experience,” Cohen says.

That being said, winemakers who prefer minimal intervention methods will opt to produce wines that are not fined or filtered. With this approach, the wine—especially red wines—will probably contain a certain amount of sediment, Lovenworth explains. This may impact the texture and can add complexity to the wine.

“However, vegan wines that employ non-animal-derived fining agents typically don’t exhibit significant variations from conventional wines in terms of taste and aroma,” Lovenworth continues.

According to Cohen, there are really no drawbacks to a wine being vegan.

How Vegan Wines Are Made

One big player in the vegan wine world is Mendoza, Argentina-based Bodega Trivento. For centuries, the South American country has been cranking out highly-rated Malbecs, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Cabernet Sauvignons.

Today, Trivento is the fastest growing Argentinian wine brand in the U.S., and as of 2020, their entire wine portfolio is certified vegan, Germán Di Cesare, chief winemaker says. Well-being, the environment, and a desire to consume less processed foods and drinks are top priorities for many of their consumers, and the brand’s sustainability mission (they’re also a certified B Corp) “aligns with our values,” Cesare says.

So what does it take to go from conventional to vegan?

“We started the process by removing the only animal-derived compound we were using in the cellar—ovalbumin, a protein derived from egg whites—from production,” Cesare explains. (Trivento had been using this to clarify the wines and round out their tannins, aka, the astringent quality that naturally occurs in wine when it’s aged with its skins and seeds.)

“In order to eliminate this, we had to address the grapes starting in the vineyard in order to balance the tannins in the fruit itself,” he continues. “In the cellar, softer macerations at lower fermentation temperatures allowed us to obtain our desired elegant, fine tannins. Once we had achieved this, we eliminated the use of ovalbumin completely.”

Now that their ingredient list was free of all animal products, the winery team reached out to The Vegan Society to receive third-party certification—and, eventually, to communicate this change to consumers. “Certified vegan” is now listed on all Trivento wine labels.

“Going vegan did not impact the flavor at all. In fact, the changes we made in the vineyards and to our winemaking processes led to more elegant wines overall,” Cesare believes.

How to Tell if Wine Is Vegan

Similar to how a nutrition label can help clue in consumers about what’s inside a package, when wine brands disclose that their juice is vegan, it helps shoppers make informed decisions.

“The potential benefits of purchasing vegan wines lie in the enhanced transparency of the production process, allowing consumers to make more informed choices about the wine they enjoy,” Lovenworth says.

While that sounds rosy, in reality, it might be tough to sort out vegan wine from its conventional wine peers. Depending on the country the vino is produced, wineries may not be obligated by law to disclose the use of fining agents, Lovenworth says. That’s because these clarifying mediums are not considered an actual ingredient in the wine; they’re used and then removed before bottling the finished wine.

It’s up to the producer whether or not they market and use the term "vegan wine," and whether they go to the effort (like Cesare and the Trivento team did) to become certified vegan.

9 of the Best Vegan Wine Brands to Try

It’s becoming more common for wineries to market their wines as vegan. Still, it remains an emerging category within the world of wine, Lovenworth admits, and sometimes a category that isn’t clearly marketed as such.

If vegan wine is a priority for you, take a peek at the back label for the aforementioned buzzwords (“certified vegan” or “unfined and unfiltered”), poke around on the wine brand’s website for technical sheets, or ask the staff at your local wine shop. To help you start your collection, here are a few BHG and sommelier favorite vegan wines.