How to faux-pas proof your next dinner party.
You’ve catered for everyone’s dietary requirements, ensured you’re cooking with oil, not butter, and used separate utensils for vegan and other dishes. But what about the wine? Sorry, what? For something that’s meant to be fermented grapes (and mostly is), it can be easy to forget that not all wine is vegan.
Here, we give you the rundown of why, offer a few pointers on how to find vegan-friendly wines and recommend some top picks from wineries that are focused on making their practices as ethical as they can be.
A vegan lifestyle means abstaining from anything containing or made using animal products, so a vegan wine is made without animal products. Historically, this hasn’t been the norm. That’s because young unfiltered wine can be cloudy and contain floating particles (proteins, tartrates, tannins, phenolics), which can be detrimental to the flavour, texture or colour. Generally, this self-corrects over time, but often, wine producers speed up the process by something known as “fining”, or filtering.
Fining agents are traditionally animal-derived products: egg whites, bone marrow, gelatin, fish oil or shell fibres. The fact they discovered bone marrow could clean wine in the first place is quite remarkable, but that’s no comfort to a vegan. There are, however, various ways to fine wine without animal products. Bentonite clay, activated charcoal, limestone, and silica gel are all filters used by winemakers to create vegan wines that do the same job. The other way to get around it is to not fine the wine and let it stabilise on its own, with time. These non-filtered wines are also known as “natural” wines.
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Spot the vegan wine
Nowadays, vegan wines are readily available. Some brands, like Rewild, make it really easy because their whole range is vegan friendly. We’re particularly partial to their bright, easy-drinking Rosé and their bright Prosecco, but there are loads of other wines to choose from, including their selection of bagnums. Oh, and did we mention the full range is sustainably made and also $10 a bottle?
For everything else, Australian labelling laws require wine producers to declare the use of processing aids, and what they were, on their labels, and the description always mention if the wine is “not fined” or “not filtered”. What you will find, however, is that most vegan wines will proudly announce this fact on the label – look for the circular green stamp.
International labelling laws differ, so it’s not as easy to tell if a wine is vegan or not. If you’re in a Dan’s store or on our website, we’ll always tell you, and if you’re not sure, just ask our staff.
Vegan wines worth talking about
If you’re serving vegan friends, it’s good to show your friends that you’ve done your research. The first topic of conversation? 6Ft6 winery. This cool-climate vineyard in the Moorabool Valley of Geelong pumps out seven different vegan wines, which are filtered with a pea and potato protein. As their chief winemaker Duncan Lowe says, it works just as well as gelatin and egg whites. If you’ve not tried their wines before, start with the Pinot Noir – it has a beautiful spicy cherry flavour that’s become their signature.
Over in South Australia, Yalumba went vegan back in 2012, removing all animal-derived products from their winemaking process. This was simply about making the best wine they could, rather than consciously setting out to make vegan-friendly wine. The historic winery believes products like gelatin, milk and eggs can sometimes strip away the flavours and textures of a wine. Whatever the inspiration, it now means all their wines are ideal for vegans, from their approachable Y Series Pinot Grigio to their super premium Octavius Shiraz.
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Other vegan wines to try
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1. What makes a wine vegan?
Not all wines are vegan. Some wines undergo a process called ‘fining’, which helps clarify the wine, and these fining agents are traditionally animal products. These include egg whites, bone marrow, gelatin, fish oil and shell fibres. Vegan wines use animal-free alternatives such as bentonite clay, activated charcoal and limestone, or they may be left unfiltered.
2. What are some vegan wines at Dan Murphy’s?
Dan Murphy’s offer a wide range of vegan-friendly wine brands, like 6Ft6 Pinot Noir and the full range from Rewild. Be sure to tick the “vegan-friendly” option on the Dan Murphy’s site when browsing online, and be sure to read the bottle label and ask the staff in-store.
3. Is natural wine always vegan?
No, natural wine is not always vegan. Some natural winemakers still use animal-derived products during the production process, while other may avoid it. It’s always best to check the bottle label or the producer’s information to confirm if the wines are vegan-friendly.
