No Bull, Just Grapes: Understanding Vegan Wine

Whenever I begin the conversation on vegan wine, I am met with the same quizzical looks and the comment that inevitably follows is:

“Vegan wine you say? But isn’t wine made entirely from grapes?”.

The short answer to the question is that of course wine is made almost entirely from grapes. There are however a handful of additives that are allowed into wine and this is where the debate of vegan vs. non-vegan wine arises.

Let’s uncork the details.

Winemaking 101

At it’s essence, wine is only made from the extracted grape juice of wine grapes. Before you ask, the good old method of stomping grapes with bare feet is still employed in some parts of the world but mostly modern wine presses are now used in this extraction. Yeast is then added to the grape juice to kick off the fermentation process which ultimately results in the production of wine. The wine is then bottled and labelled before being sold to the consumer.

While putting the process as simply as possible above, the reality is that winemaking is an intricate dance and we are blessed to have some of the finest vineyards and producers who call South Africa home. ?

There are two specific steps in the winemaking process which give rise to the vegan question:

1.????? The addition of yeast; and

2.????? The fining of wine.

Let’s explore both.

Yeast: Vegan or Not?

As anyone who has baked some bread or brewed their own beer can attest to, the addition of yeast into a mixture brings it to life. Yeast actively metabolises and reproduces so therefore can be thought of as a living organism. So - is yeast vegan or not?

Yeast are classified as belonging the kingdom Fungi, which includes mushrooms and molds and is therefore is vegan friendly. Being non-sentient and free from animal abuse or cruelty further enforce the vegan friendly status of yeast.

Fining: The Murky Details

Freshly fermented wine does not look anything like the crystal-clear Sauvignon Blanc that is poured into your glass at your favourite restaurant. It is traditionally cloudy, murky and full of debris – dead yeast cells, grape skins and proteins to name a few. To clarify the wine by removing this debris, a process called fining is implemented.

The process of fining the wine began with the Romans but it wasn’t formalised as part of the winemaking process until the 18th Century in Europe (France, Italy and Spain). To collect this debris, winemakers add in fining agents that act like a magnet - negatively charged protein from additives attract the positively charged debris which then bind together and sink to the bottom of the wine. The fined wine is then run off and bottled. ?

It is in these fining agents that the trouble begins. Fining agents have traditionally included:

·???????? Egg white (albumin);

·???????? Crushed fish bladder (isinglass); or

·???????? Dried bull’s blood.

It is interesting that when I explain these proteins to clients who are not vegan, they all react with a slight disgust. These fining agents are all filtered away before bottling so you are not actually drinking the proteins but the thought of fish bladder in you Chardonnay is totally unappealing.

Enter Bentonite

The alternative to using animal protein is to use a vegetable protein called bentonite. Bentonite is a mineral-rich clay that is highly absorbent and has a negative charge which means that it behaves in the exact same way as animal protein with regard to fining. Bentonite also doesn’t add flavour to the wine which makes it an ideal choice for winemakers.

Interestingly nowadays, some winemakers still choose not to fine or filter their wine as they believe that it strips character and flavour. It is therefore becoming more common to have cloudy wines or see debris floating in the wine. These will also be vegan friendly wines.

The Future

As sustainable farming methods, including organic farming, become increasingly more important, vegan wine is gaining favour and is actively being asked for. The high quality of wine is also not impacted by the choice of fining agent.

Wineries like Kaapzicht and Masottina have also actively printed the vegan friendly designation on their bottles so it is quite easy to pick your wine – most wineries will have an indication on their bottles too. If you are in doubt, there are also apps which will highlight vegan alternatives for you to explore.

The one thing I have not done yet is pair vegan wine with vegan cheese – please do so and let me know how it goes!

?

?