ProVeg
Defining and certifying
vegan wine Director of Proveg South Africa, Donovan Will explains how the South African wine industry is keeping up with the modern consumer and ethical demands influenced by the plant-based movement. WHY MANY WINES ARE NOT VEGAN
choose to use them for a variety
There are several reasons a wine
of reasons: it saves them and the
may not be vegan-friendly - from
consumer money and time, it
pesticide use on the vineyard and
clarifies the wine and can be used
how the soil is treated, to additives
to correct imperfection or fine-tune
and preservatives and even the
the taste of a wine.
bottling and labelling of the finished product. During winemaking, several
“Vegan wine is either natural wine that has not been fined or wine that has been fined using substances that are vegan-friendly.”
There is a wide variety of fining agents available in the winemaking industry, most
wines are often hazy because they
commonly derived from animals.
contain tiny molecules such as
According to FactsSA, popular
proteins, tartrates, tannins, phenolics
animal-derived fining agents
and other organic particles. These
include casein (milk protein), chitin
can be removed before or after
(fibre from crustacean shells), egg
fermentation when filtered through
albumen (protein derived from egg
substances called ‘fining agents’.
whites), fish oil, gelatin (commonly
Veganwines.com explains that
derived from collagen taken from
fining is a winemaking process that
animal body parts – bovine, fish or
aims to “clarify and stabilise a wine”,
pork), and isinglass (gelatin from
whereas a fining agent is “one of a
fish bladder membranes).
to the juice to coagulate or absorb,
WHAT MAKES WINE VEGAN THEN?
WHAT IS NEEDED TO LABEL A WINE AS “VEGAN”?
and quickly precipitate the particles
Several winemakers are opting to
Several factors must be taken
suspended in the juice”.
move away from animal-derived
into account for brands who are
fining agents and replace them
considering making their wine
like a magnet: unwanted haze-
with natural fining agents like
range vegan.
inducing molecules coagulate
bentonite clay, carbon (charcoal)
around the fining agent, forming
and silica. Globally, many
larger particles that can easily be
nations are declaring animal-
range of special materials added
In effect, the fining agent acts
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Ethical and health concerns and considerations
Most vegan-based lifestyles are
filtered out. Common practice is
derived fining agents as allergic
to remove the fining agents along
substances and must, by law,
driven by one of two factors: strong
with the unwanted particles before
declare the use of such agents
ethical or health considerations.
the final product is bottled, but
on their labels if it is above a
Claiming that a product is
residual fining agents may still be
detectable level. Vegan wine is,
vegan, and therefore does not
present in the final wine product.
therefore, either natural wine that
contain any animal products
has not been fined or wine that
or by-products, may suggest to
young wines self-stabilise and self-
has been fined using substances
consumers that it is free from these
fine with time, but winemakers
that are vegan-friendly.
allergens. If falsely advertised,
Not all wines are fined and most
Just Vegan
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