What Is Vegan Wine?

At its basic level, wine is fairly straightforward—a beverage made from grapes. As such, you’d expect it to be vegan. However, the winemaking process can use animal products, making some wines unsuitable for vegetarian and vegan drinkers.

With more wine lovers across the U.S. adopting a vegan lifestyle, as well as wanting to be more ethical consumers, it makes sense to understand how wine can support a plant-based diet. We’ve broken down the most common vegan wine questions to help you find new, delicious wines to enjoy.

What Is Vegan Wine?

The term ’vegan wine’ is reserved for wines that avoid using animal-derived products throughout the entire winemaking process. This means all wines—whether red, white, rosé or sparkling—can be vegan, provided they adhere to vegan-friendly production.

Browse our extensive range of vegan wines.

How Is Vegan Wine Made?

The crux of the vegan wine debate lies in a stage of winemaking known as ‘fining,’ which occurs after the grape juices are fermented.

After fermentation, wines can be cloudy with proteins, tannins and other microscopic particles. While natural and harmless, they can affect a wine’s clarity and stability.

To achieve a clear, bright appearance, winemakers use fining agents to bind these particles, making them easier to filter.

Traditionally, fining agents have been animal products, such as egg whites, fish bladder proteins known as isinglass and milk protein. Although these animal products are removed once they’ve done their job, some traces may remain in the wine, and because they aren’t additives, they won’t be listed on the label. Nevertheless, this disqualifies the wine from being labeled as ‘vegan.’

Alternative Fining Agents

As animal products are off the table when making vegan wine, there are two options. Wines can be left to stabilize and self-fine over time, meaning they don’t use fining agents.

However, as this is a slow process, winemakers may use alternative fining agents, such as bentonite (a type of clay), activated charcoal or plant casein to achieve the same effect without animal products.

What Does Drinking Vegan Wine Mean?

Vegan wines allow wine lovers to enjoy delicious and complex wines without compromising their morals or ethics. From an ethical standpoint, vegan wines ensure no animal-derived products are used in their production, aligning with cruelty-free lifestyle choices.

While not conclusively healthier, vegan wines may contain fewer potential allergenic compounds due to the fining agents used, which is potentially beneficial for those with allergies or who are sensitive to those compounds.

On the environmental front, vegan winemakers often adhere to organic or biodynamic principles, emphasizing sustainability and a reduced carbon footprint. However, many winemakers focus on organic and sustainable practices regardless of whether they produce vegan or non-vegan wine.

Does Vegan Wine Taste Different from Non-Vegan Wine?

Since a wine’s taste depends on the grape varieties used and where the grapes were grown, and any fining agents used are removed once they’ve done their job, there’s no noticeable difference in taste between vegan and non-vegan wine. Even when being used, fining agents don’t add any additional flavor.

Whether you’ve picked a buttery Chardonnay or rich Cabernet Franc, the style and characteristics of the grape variety will affect your drinking experience the most, not any vegan winemaking practices.

Some vegan wine lovers may still claim they can taste a difference, although these claims could be considered part of the placebo effect—because vegan wine is thought to be “healthier,” it will taste “better.”

We have a range of premium, award-winning vegan wines, including the floral and fresh Château Les Moutins 2020, a Sauvignon Blanc-based blend from Bordeaux, France, and the luscious Antonio Federici Rosso 2021, a red blend from Italy. Both have won gold medals for their high quality, attention to detail during the winemaking process and concentrated flavors.

Choosing a Vegan Wine

Wine brands are beginning to recognize the demand for vegan wines as the interest in living a more sustainable, conscious lifestyle increases.

The reality is that many wines are vegan-friendly, even if they aren’t explicitly labeled as such. The labeling of vegan wines in the U.S. is not mandatory. Some wine brands may be labeled as “unfined/unfiltered” to indicate that no fining agents were used during the production of that wine, making it a vegan-friendly option.

Another way to tell if a wine is vegan is to look for the Certified Vegan badge on the label.

But if you’re unsure if a wine is vegan, contact the winemaker for dietary information.

Four Delicious Vegan Wines for You

La Voûte 2021

With zesty citrus, orchard fruit and baking spice notes, a luscious and elegant Chardonnay like La Voûte 2021, made with premium Limoux grapes, is a must-try for any white wine lover.

RedHeads 1888 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Sumptuous and full-bodied, RedHeads’ 1888 Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted entirely by hand. This Australian wine is one-of-a-kind and good for the planet, full of ripe red and black fruit flavors and topped off with warming, toasty vanilla notes from barrel aging.

Schroeder Estate Pinot Noir Rosé 2021

A dry and succulent Argentine rosé, full of red berry, rose and orange blossom flavors, Schroeder Estate Pinot Noir Rosé 2021 is a must-have for those long summer months. Perfectly paired with summery salads, cheese boards and fresh seafood.

Alessandro Gallici Prosecco Anniversario Rosato 2020

Did you know sparkling wine can be vegan, too? This limited-edition Alessandro Gallici Prosecco Anniversario Rosato 2020 from Italy isn’t just in-line with the hottest wine trends but is also perfect for celebrations of any size.

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What Is Vegan Wine?