As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no additional costs for you.
Avoiding animal products is easier with a wide variety of vegan-friendly foods, restaurants, and resorts, but what about your favorite wine? Surely all wine is vegan because it is made with grapes. It will surprise you to know that’s untrue, and you need a step-by-step guide on how to know your wine is vegan.
To know if your wine is vegan, search the label for these identifying symbols – The Kosher certification, the V-Label, which is a green V placed on a yellow background used mainly in Europe, a wine that specifically states unfined on the label, or wine that states it uses bentonite as a fining agent.
Deciding to change your lifestyle and become vegan is typically done for personal reasons and convictions. Many wine enthusiasts indeed have no idea that wines contain animal-derived products. If you have never been able to differentiate between vegan and non-vegan wines – here are some step-by-step hacks you can use.
TIP: If you want to check out the best refrigerator for wine storage, I recommend trying out the Avation (18 bottles) compressor refrigerator with Wi-fi smart app control cooling system. You can find this refrigerator by clicking here (Amazon link).
How to Tell if Wine is Vegan
It is impossible to tell if wine is vegan by just looking at the bottle. Even to assume that it should be vegan purely because it is made with grapes is a risk. Wine producers use fining agents to either clear up wine or enhance certain flavors. The problem is that they are not required by law to declare the type of fining agent they use.
As long as these agents are natural, biodynamic, or organic, they are allowed to be used, which presents a problem for vegetarians and vegans who prefer certain or no animal products. There are no international guidelines to regulate the use of fining agents. This can make it difficult to verify if a wine is vegan.
The website Barnivore.com is the go-to authority on all vegan wines in the USA. They comprehensively list verified vegan red, rose, and white wines.
TIP: If a sustainable lifestyle is important to you, you might be interested in learning how to dispose of old unopened wine and bottles without damaging the environment. This article provides a few good tips. This complete guide explains how you can recycle wine bottles and corks.
Typically in Europe, vegan wines are identifiable by the European Vegetarian Union logo, which is a green V placed on a yellow background. This is the only recognizable vegan certification for wine in Europe, although there is no legislation to enforce procedures.
The only way to tell if wine is vegan is through identifying the classification of the type of fining agent, such as bentonite or the V-logo, or by buying from a reputable agency such as Barnivore.com.
Recommendation box: Everything you need to enjoy your wine as much as possible. All recommended products are personally tested and regularly used by experts from this website (Amazon links):
> Ivation Wine Cooler – Energy-efficient wine cooler for 18 bottles with Wi-fi smart app control cooling system.
> Wine Rack – Beautiful, elegant wood rack for up to 7 bottles and the choice of vertical or horizontal storage.
> Durand Wine Opener – Classic vintage wine opener (we like all these classic staff).
> YouYah Iceberg Wine Decanter – The most beautiful and handy wine decanter we personally use.
> Bormioli Rocco Wine Glasses – A set of eight elegant and traditional wine glasses made in Italy.
> Vintorio Wine Aerator – Simple but really useful wine aerator for a reasonable price.
> The Original Vacu Vin Wine Saver – The best wine saver on the market in a package with two vacuum stoppers and two wine servers.
And if you want to become a true connoisseur of wine, we recommend reading the book Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine (Amazon link), where you will find all the information you need about winemaking, wine varieties, flavors, and much more.
What Makes Wine Vegan
Because veganism is based on a way of living choice and philosophy that excludes as far as practicable any form of animal cruelty, exploitation, and slaughter for clothing and or food, vegans refuse the use of any animal-derived products or substances, and that includes products used when making wine.
Winemakers who understand and respect this philosophy have started adapting their winemaking skills and practices to become more inclusive of the vegan lifestyle. The use of bentonite clay as a fining agent is more widely accepted and is believed to be a far healthier and cruelty-free choice in general.
TIP: Are you interested in buying a wine stopper? We’ve personally tried and recommend buying one of these wine stoppers (Amazon links):
- The Original Vacu Vin Wine Saver: Our top choice. Very easy-to-use wine stopper/saver. You can enjoy a glass of fresh wine whenever you want without worrying about wasting any.
- EZBASICS Wine Saver: Great alternative to Original Vacu Vin Saver. This wine stopper keeps the flavor of wine for up to one week.
- Champagne Stopper by MiTBA: Wine stoppers for sparkling wines are different. This wine stopper seals your bottle and increases the pressure so your beverage’s bubbles won’t go to waste.
As their views and market start changing, winemakers follow a best practice approach to finishing the product, and by using bentonite, their wines become automatically vegan and cruelty-free. Large global retailers understand the responsibility, and some produce their own vegan-label wines.
The list of fining agents that make wine vegan are:
- Bentonite – This is a type of light clay
- Silica – Derived from quartz sand
- Carbon – Activated charcoal from coconut or bamboo
- Limestone – Made from crushing the limestone to a powder
- Vegetable gelatin – made from processed potatoes or peas
TIP: I wrote this great article on how to store wine with a cork that you will certainly learn from. To learn how to store wine without a cork, this article will be your resource.
What Makes Wine Not Vegan
Non-vegan wine is a wine that uses fining agents that are derived from animal products. Typically these fining agents do not have to be declared on the label or the product sheet that is sent to distributors. The product sheets contain all the relevant information, such as ingredient lists and nutritional values.
The fining process is not a familiar winemaking process to the general public. Fining means an additive is added to the wine used to remove organic particles in unaged wines and protein and yeast molecules. The purpose of the fining agents is to clear up the wine and alter the taste profile.
Fining agents help to drag impure particles to the bottom of the tank or barrel. This added sediment will be removed before bottling. These fining agents are the deciding factor that either makes a wine vegan or not.
The list of fining agents that make wine not vegan is:
- Gelatin – This is collagen from processed animal body parts
- Casein – This is a milk-based fining agent
- Albumen – Egg white separated from the yolk
- Isinglass – Made from dried fish bladders
- Arthropods – Invertebrate animals
- Chitin – Made from crushed crustacean shells
Wines that use beeswax seals are also disqualified from being certified vegan, even if the wine is made in a biodynamic setting. Strict vegan rules also disqualify any labels attached to animal-derived glue, and these rules extend to the farming practices themselves.
Animal-based fertilizers used on the vineyard will be considered an exclusion as well as the use of animals for harvesting purposes, such as horses pulling carts.
TIP: Most wines go bad once you pop the cork within a day or so. But a Coravin Wine Preservation system (available for a great price on Amazon) can extend the life of your opened wine for weeks or even months. It is awesome. You should check it out to see if it fits your lifestyle.
What Wines Are Vegan
Wines are typically harvested on a biodynamic farm using the least invasive farming methods and no fining agents derived from animal or insect origin.
TIP: Do wine grapes contain alcohol, and how much? Find out here! What makes fine wine fine? This article has the answers!
These wines have been certified vegan and can be bought with peace of mind:
Australia
- Mino & Co – A Grower’s Touch – Cabernet Sauvignon
- Mino & Co – A Grower’s Touch – Durif
The USA
- A Gust Of Sun – All wines except the 2010 Niagara
- A Tribute To Grace Winery – All wines
- Abacela Winery – All wines
Spain
- Compañia de Vinos del Atlantico – A Portela Mencía
- Aalto Bodegas y Viñedos – All wines
Portugal
- A & D Wines – Casa Do Arrabalde
- A & D Wines – Liv Rosé
- A & D Wines – Liv
- A & D Wines – Monólogo Arinto P24
- A & D Wines – Chardonnay P706
- A & D Wines – Monólogo Malvasia Fina P70
England
- Marks & Spencer Plc – Abel Charlot Brut NV
South Africa
- Abingdon Vineyards – All Abingdon Wines
- AA Badenhorst Family Wines – All wines
France
- Castelbarry – A Tete Reposee
Brazil
- Abreu Garcia – All Wines
TIP: Is a wine refrigerator required for wine storage? Discover the answer in this helpful article. And if you want to know if cheap wine can be stored and aged, check out this awesome article.
Is Barefoot Wine Vegan?
Barefoot wines may sound like its completely natural and made by crushing grapes by foot, but not all of their wines are, in fact, vegan-friendly. They use fining agents made from animal gelatin and other animal-derived products.
According to the Barnivore.com website, none of the Barefoot wines available has been certified vegan.
TIP: A suitable wine glass is the basis for enjoying well-being while drinking your favorite wine variety. Here are our favorite ones (Amazon link):
- Bormioli Rocco Crystal Wine Glasses: A set of eight elegant and traditional wine glasses made in Italy for a reasonable price.
- Riedel VINUM Wine Glasses: Luxury set of two wine glasses suitable for any occasion. We just love them!
- Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Glasses: If you like unusual alternatives, a set of six stemless glasses made of crystal glass.
Conclusion
Although every effort is made to produce wines that conform to the anti-animal cruelty philosophy of a vegan lifestyle, there are definitions that can cast the net very wide. Wines that are certified vegan and are produced as practically as possible using biodynamic methods should be considered the benchmark.
Using horses for plowing or pulling carts and using cow manure will not disqualify otherwise vegan-certified wines. Kosher wines are to be considered vegan automatically, as no animal products are allowed in the wine.
TIP: Check out this page for a complete list of wine products and accessories I love. You’ll find my recommendations for wine refrigerators, decanters, and aerators and the best place to buy wine online. Click here to see the complete listing.