Vegetarianism and wine

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A glass of red wine

The production of wine often includes a process called fining (or "clarifying"), in which fining agents are added to wine to remove proteins, yeast, and other suspended organic particles, and later filtered out. Fining agents can be either animal, carbon, or clay-based. Animal-based fining agents include gelatin, isinglass, egg white (albumen), and casein.

Since the fining agent is filtered back out of the wine, the labeling of these additives is not required or regulated in most places. However, the use of animal-derived additives in wine production is a matter of ethical concern in vegetarianism and veganism.[1]

## Non-vegetarian/vegan additives

[edit]

See also: Clarification and stabilization of wine § Fining

Examples of common animal products used as fining agents are gelatin, isinglass, casein, and egg albumen.[2][3] Dried bull's blood was also used in some Mediterranean countries but, as a legacy of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is not allowed in the U.S. or the European Union.[4]

### Gelatin

[edit]

The most common animal product used for fining is gelatin, due to its potency and effectiveness. Gelatin is made from the boiling of animal parts. Wine specifically responds best to type A gelatin, which is derived from the boiling of pig's skin.[1] It takes only one ounce of gelatin to clarify 1,000 gallons of wine. Gelatin is used in both white and red wines to fix haze/color and to adjust the flavor or bitterness of the wine.[3]

### Isinglass

[edit]

Isinglass is derived from fish bladders. It is primarily used to clear white wines. Like gelatin, isinglass needs to be used sparingly to prevent residual traces in the wine due to its potency.[3]

### Casein

[edit]

Casein is the main protein found in cow's milk. It makes up 80% of the proteins and is derived by first skimming milk of its fat, then a process of precipitation to separate remaining particles of the milk and in the end be left with casein proteins.[5] Casein is used in both red and white wines to clarify and treat and prevent oxidization.[3]

### Egg Albumen

[edit]

Egg albumen are the whites of a raw chicken egg. It is most commonly used in the clarification of red wines to remove excess tannins.[3]

## Vegan and vegetarian alternative fining agents

[edit]

As an alternative to animal products, carbon, bentonite, a clay mineral, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone are the most common to be used to clarify wine. In Australia, winemakers are required to list the use of potential allergens such as casein and albumin on the label. Still, they are not obliged to list the use of other animal-based fining agents such as gelatin or isinglass.[6] In the EU, regulations only stipulate that wines fined using milk or egg products (both allergens) must be clearly labelled.[7]

Some winemakers believe that fining removes desirable flavours and aromas and instead let the wine's sediments settle naturally, which is a time-consuming process.[3] Natural wines are a growing trend, which are unfiltered by their very nature.[8]

## Labeling requirements

[edit]

It is not required for products to disclose whether they are vegan/vegetarian or not. Even products that choose to label their products with titles, are not required to show proof that they are free of animal byproducts, animal testing, or any form of animal exploitation.[9] In the United States, it is not required that alcohol labels disclose even major allergens. There was a proposal submitted by the Tax and Trade Bureau in 2006 to mandate the labeling of major allergens such as milk, eggs, and fish included in the production of wine (whether it is filtered out or not).[10]

in 2011, Dr. Emilia Vassilopoulou published a study conducted by herself and her colleagues in an attempt to determine if allergens (milk, egg, and fish products used as fining agents) should be labeled on the packaging of the product. Their goal was to find, in a controlled environment, if people with certain allergens would have reactions after drinking wine that had been fined with said allergen. The findings showed no reactions through in-vitro methods, but had positive skin pricks tests in patients who consumed/were allergic to wines fined with milk, fish, and eggs. The findings were so minimal that they agreed that the labeling is not necessary.[11] However, this does prove that there are still particles of these animal proteins leftover in the wine.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* Glossary of wine terms
* Wine
* Vegetarianism and beer

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Why Wine Isn't Always Vegan". Inside Science. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
2. ^ Hermann, Jonathan (29 January 2009). "Vegan Wines 101". VegNews. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Fining Agents". The Australian Wine Research Institute. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
4. ^ "Europe Wine seized in bull's blood scare". BBC News. 25 June 1999. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
5. ^ "How is Casein Extracted from Milk? (with pictures)". wiseGEEK. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
6. ^ "Wine Australia for Australian Wine producers Compliance Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 24 September 2021.
7. ^ "Labelling Wine". Retrieved 2020-02-09.
8. ^ Dom (2018-12-27). "Why isn't all wine vegan? | What makes wine vegan?". Vegan Wine Box. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
9. ^ be-veg. "BeVeg". BeVeg. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
10. ^ ALFD. "TTB | FAQs | Allergen Labeling". ttb.gov. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
11. ^ Vassilopoulou, Emilia; Karathanos, Athanassios; Siragakis, George; Giavi, Stavroula; Sinaniotis, Athanassios; Douladiris, Nikolaos; Fernandez-Rivas, Montserrat; Clausen, Michael; Papadopoulos, Nikolaos G (2011-10-17). "Risk of allergic reactions to wine, in milk, egg and fish-allergic patients". Clinical and Translational Allergy. 1 (1): 10. doi:10.1186/2045-7022-1-10. ISSN 2045-7022. PMC 3339366. PMID 22409883.

## External links

[edit]

* VegNews Vegan Wine Guide
* Barnivore.com – Vegan Alcohol Directory
* VegNews Vegan Wines 101
* Goodwill Wine — Vegan Wine Info

* v
* t
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Veganism and vegetarianism

Perspectives|

| Veganism|

* Animal-free agriculture
* Black veganism
* Fruitarianism
* History
* Raw veganism
* Straight edge
* Hardline
* Nutrition
* Vegan organic agriculture
* Vegan school meal
* Vegan studies

|

Vegetarianism|

* Economic vegetarianism
* Environmental vegetarianism
* History (Romantic Era)
* Orthopathy
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* Cuisine
* Vegetarian Diet Pyramid
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Lists|

* Bibliography
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Locations|

* Cheremshanka, Altai Republic
* Community of the Ark
* Haridwar
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* Palitana
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* Rishikesh
* Tirumala
* The Farm (Tennessee)

Ethics|

| Secular|

* Animal rights
* Animal welfare
* Anthropocentrism
* Carnism
* Deep ecology
* Environmental vegetarianism
* Ethics of eating meat
* Meat paradox
* Nonviolence
* Replaceability argument
* Sentientism
* Speciesism
* Tirukkuṟaḷ

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Religious|

* Buddhism
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* Rastafari
* Sikhism
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Food
and drink|

* List of vegetarian and vegan companies
* Dairy alternatives
* Coconut milk
* Plant cream
* Plant milk
* Soy yogurt
* Cheese
* Meat alternatives
* List of meat substitutes
* Bacon
* Burgers
* Duck
* Hot dogs
* Jambon
* Quorn
* Sausage roll
* Seitan
* Tempeh
* Tofu
* Tofurkey
* Gelatin substitutes
* Vegetarian mark
* Beer
* Wine

Groups
and events|

| Vegan|

* American Vegan Society
* Beauty Without Cruelty
* China Vegan Society
* Food Empowerment Project
* Go Vegan
* Nederlandse Vereniging voor Veganisme
* Our Hen House
* Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
* Plamil Foods
* Vegan Awareness Foundation
* Vegan flag
* Vegan Outreach
* Vegan Prisoners Support Group
* The Vegan Society
* Veganmania
* Vegetarian Resource Group
* Veganuary
* Veganz
* World Vegan Day

|

Vegetarian|

* Alcott House
* Bible Christian Church
* Boston Vegetarian Society
* Christian Vegetarian Association
* Dutch Vegetarian Society
* Eden Gemeinnützige Obstbau-Siedlung
* European Vegetarian Union
* French Vegetarian Society
* Hare Krishna Food for Life
* International Vegetarian Union
* Jewish Veg
* Meat-free days
* Meatless Monday
* Friday fast
* North American Vegetarian Society
* Order of the Golden Age
* ProVeg Deutschland
* ProVeg International
* ProVeg Nederland
* Scottish Vegetarian Society
* Swissveg
* Toronto Vegetarian Association
* Vegetarian Federal Union
* Vegetarian Society
* Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
* Veggie Pride
* Viva! Health
* World Esperantist Vegetarian Association
* World Vegetarian Day

Films|

* The Animals Film (1981)
* Diet for a New America (1991)
* A Cow at My Table (1998)
* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Post Punk Kitchen (2003–2005)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* A Sacred Duty (2007)
* Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010)
* Planeat (2010)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* Live and Let Live (2013)
* Cowspiracy (2014)
* PlantPure Nation (2015)
* What the Health (2017)
* Carnage (2017)
* Dominion (2018)
* Eating You Alive (2018)
* The Game Changers (2018)
* Maa Ka Doodh (2023)
* You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment (2024)

Magazines
and journals|

* The Animals' Agenda
* Naked Food
* The Pleasure Boat
* Satya
* Vegan Journal
* The Vegetarian Magazine
* Vegetarian Times
* VegNews

Books
and reports|

* On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
* Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets (1699)
* The Fable of the Bees (1714)
* A Reasonable Plea for the Animal Creation (1746)
* Primitive Cookery (1767)
* The Cry of Nature (1791)
* An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
* Vegetable Cookery (1812)
* A Vindication of Natural Diet (1813)
* Reasons for not Eating Animal Food (1814)
* Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
* Nature's Own Book (1835)
* Fruits and Farinacea (1845)
* The Ethics of Diet (1883)
* A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays (1886)
* What is Vegetarianism? (1886)
* The First Step (1891)
* Shelley's Vegetarianism (1891)
* Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses (1892)
* Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895)
* Figs or Pigs? (1896)
* Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
* The Logic of Vegetarianism (1899)
* Thirty-nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian (1903)
* The Meat Fetish (1904)
* The Apsley Cookery Book
* The New Ethics (1907)
* A Fleshless Diet (1910)
* The Benefits of Vegetarianism (1927)
* Living the Good Life (1954)
* Ten Talents (1968)
* Diet for a Small Planet (1971)
* The Vegetarian Epicure (1972)
* Moosewood Collective Cookbooks (1973)
* The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (1975)
* Laurel's Kitchen (1976)
* Moosewood Cookbook (1977)
* Fit for Life (1985)
* Diet for a New America (1987)
* The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990)
* Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997)
* The China Study (2005)
* Skinny Bitch (2005)
* Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
* The Bloodless Revolution (2006)
* Eating Animals (2009)
* Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (2009)
* The Vegan Studies Project (2015)
* Animal (De)liberation (2016)
* The End of Animal Farming (2018)
* Vegetable Kingdom (2020)
* Making a Stand for Animals (2022)
* Meat Atlas (annual)

Restaurants|

| Active|

* Ben & Esther's Vegan Jewish Deli
* Cinnaholic
* Crossroads Kitchen
* Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro
* Greens Restaurant
* Elizabeth's Gone Raw
* Hiltl Restaurant
* Little Pine
* Moosewood Restaurant
* Plant
* Purezza
* Slutty Vegan
* Souley Vegan
* The Sound Lounge
* Veggie Galaxy
* Veggie Grill

|

Former|

* Cranks
* Food for Thought
* InSpiral Lounge
* Lentil as Anything
* Minerva Café
* New Riverside Cafe
* Nix
* Penny Cafeteria
* Pink Peacock
* The Hollow Reed
* The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel

Related|

* Cultured meat
* Juice fasting
* Low-carbon
* Plant-based action plan
* Plant-based diet
* Planetary health
* Sustainable diet
* Vegaphobia
* Vegetarian and vegan dog diet
* Vegetarian and vegan symbolism

Wines and winemaking

* v
* t
* e

Wine

Viticulture|

* Annual growth cycle of grapevines
* Oenology
* Species
* Terroir
* Veraison
* Vineyard

History|

* Ancient
* Phoenicians
* Ancient Greece
* Ancient Rome
* China
* Noah's wine
* France
* Great French Wine Blight
* Georgia
* New World
* Judgment of Paris

Styles|

* Red
* White
* Sparkling
* Rosé
* Orange

* Dessert
* Fortified
* Ice
* Aromatized
* Fruit
* Noble rot
* Straw

* Other
* Table
* Natural
* Biodynamic
* Organic
* Kosher

Top grape varieties
by acreage|

| White|

* Airén
* Aligoté
* Catarratto
* Cayetana blanca
* Chardonnay
* Chenin blanc
* Colombard
* Glera
* Grüner Veltliner
* Macabeo
* Müller-Thurgau
* Muscat blanc
* Muscat of Alexandria
* Palomino
* Riesling
* Rkatsiteli
* Sauvignon blanc
* Sémillon
* Trebbiano
* Welschriesling

|

Red|

* Alicante Bouschet
* Barbera
* Bobal
* Cabernet Franc
* Cabernet Sauvignon
* Carignan
* Cinsaut
* Douce noir
* Gamay
* Grenache
* Isabella
* Malbec
* Merlot
* Montepulciano
* Mourvèdre
* Pinot noir
* Sangiovese
* Syrah
* Tempranillo
* Zinfandel

Major regions|

* Old World
* New World

Packaging, accessories,
and storage|

* Alternative wine closure
* Box wine
* Corkscrew
* Decanter
* Jug wine
* Kvevri
* Muselet
* Port tongs
* Screw cap
* Wine bottle
* Wine cave
* Wine cellar
* Wine cork
* Wine dispenser
* Wine glass
* Wine label
* Wine rack

Wine chemistry|

* Aroma of wine
* Acids in wine
* Phenolic content in wine
* Proteins in wine
* Sugars in wine

Industry|

* Classification
* Oenophilia
* Sommelier
* Wine and food pairing
* Wine fault
* Wine fraud
* Winemaker
* Wine personalities
* Wine tasting
* Wine tasting descriptors

* Wine portal
* Outline
* Glossary

* v
* t
* e

Winemaking

Harvest|

* Late harvest wine
* Noble rot
* Vintage

Pressing|

* Deacidification
* Destemming
* Chaptalization
* Wine press

Maceration|

* Carbonic maceration

Fermentation|

* Malolactic fermentation
* Sparkling wine production
* Sugars in wine
* Süssreserve
* Traditional method
* Yeast assimilable nitrogen
* Yeast in winemaking

Aging|

* Oak
* Solera
* Wine cellar

Other steps|

* Clarification and stabilization of wine

Related|

* Winery
* Wine bottle
* Glossary of viticulture terms
* Glossary of winemaking terms
* Wine tasting descriptors
* History of the wine press
* History of wine
* Terroir

Wine portal
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