Wine is made from grapes, so it sounds as though every wine should naturally be vegan.

Surprisingly, that's not always the case.

The difference usually comes down to a stage of winemaking known as fining.

What Is Fining?

After fermentation, wine can contain tiny suspended particles including proteins, tannins and other compounds that may affect its clarity, stability or texture.

Winemakers may use a process called fining to remove or reduce some of these compounds.

A fining agent is added to the wine, where it binds with particular compounds. The resulting material can then settle or be removed from the wine.

Why Aren't All Wines Vegan?

Some traditional fining agents are derived from animals.

These can include:

• casein or potassium caseinate — derived from milk

• egg albumin or egg white

• gelatine — animal-derived protein

• isinglass — traditionally derived from fish

If animal-derived processing aids are used during production, the finished wine may not be considered vegan.

What Do Vegan Winemakers Use Instead?

Animal-derived fining agents aren't essential to making wine.

Some producers use non-animal alternatives such as bentonite, a naturally occurring clay widely used in winemaking.

Others may use different non-animal processing methods or choose to make wines with little or no fining at all.

The important point is that bentonite is not an animal-derived fining agent.

Can You Tell if a Wine Is Vegan From the Label?

Not always.

Food-allergen labelling and vegan status are not the same thing. A wine's label may contain important allergen information, but that alone does not necessarily tell you whether every processing aid used during production was vegan.

The most reliable approach is to check information supplied by the winery or a retailer that has confirmed the wine's vegan status.

At Guilt Free Wine, look for the Vegan Friendly identifier on individual product pages.

If you're unsure about a particular bottle, ask us and we'll help confirm the producer information.

Does Vegan Wine Mean Organic?

No.

These terms describe completely different things.

Vegan wine relates to whether animal-derived products or processing aids are used in production.

Organic wine relates primarily to how the grapes are grown and to the requirements of the relevant organic standard.

A wine can therefore be:

• vegan but not organic

• organic but not vegan

• both organic and vegan

• neither

The same applies to biodynamic and preservative-free wine — they are separate characteristics.

Why Does It Matter?

For some wine drinkers, choosing vegan wine is an ethical or lifestyle preference. For others, it's simply about understanding more about how the wine was made.

Either way, we believe that information should be easy to find.

That's why Guilt Free Wine clearly identifies vegan-friendly wines throughout our range, alongside other attributes such as organic, biodynamic and preservative-free.

Wine shouldn't be confusing. The more you know about what's behind the bottle, the easier it is to choose what suits you.