Scratching the Surface of Natural and Vegan Wine

The idea that wine is not always vegan comes as surprise to many. Oh great, here come the vegan activists, finding a way to ruin everything holy and delicious. Now, I come from a family that is very engaged in the wine industry. It’s almost impossible not to be, living just 20 minutes away from some of the most famous Napa Valley vineyards and tasting rooms. Full disclosure, vegan wine is not something I had given much thought, figuring ignorance is bliss if I have a perfectly good glass of grapes in front of me.

Until…recently, I had the idea of creating an elegant vegan food and wine pairing for a special occasion. Of course, I wanted to make sure the wines I purchased for said pairing would fit the cruelty-free profile.

Now, back to the question most people have, what makes wine not vegan? As it turns out, some wines are not vegan due to their fining or filtration process. Some of these fining agents are comprised of: gelatin from fish bladder, casein (milk), or bone marrow. While these particles are not technically in your finished product, the means by which it was produced wasn’t entirely animal-free. The good news is a) not all wine makers fine their wine the same way b) there are vegan alternatives to fining wines such as, bentonite (clay) or activated charcoal.

As it happens, the very same week I started diving into this topic, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op was offering a natural wine tasting event. To clarify, natural is not synonymous for vegan. While there is no official international criteria for “natural wine” there are some standards they all adhere to such as: the grapes are always farmed organically (biodynamic being a very popular term you may see) and made without adding or removing anything from the wine. However, I did learn that some intervention in natural wines, like the addition of sulfites (as a preservative) may occur, but at a very, very minimal level compared to “unnatural wines.” It turns out, there is a whole community of natural wine makers in the US and abroad. Since I figure I’m basically a full-blown vegan product journalist at this point, I decided I would make an appearance and try everything, for research purposes. For $10 and two hours, they gave me a glass and a spit cup, but I only have two hands so the spit cup found its way to the trash. At that time, I didn’t realize there were a total of 50 different natural wines were being featured. But thank goodness because this was for research and I had to do my due diligence.

From what I remember, I learned a lot. I’m joking. I remember it all, although I don’t recommend trying to make articulate descriptions of your wines after your 37th taste. The most important discovery is that this new class of natural wines I am now exposed to is almost exclusively vegan. The only caveat, and I think it’s a bit of a stretch, is that if the grapes are grown biodynamically, animal fertilizer is often used in the soil. I suppose if you were a very strict vegan, this would be a no-no but it’s a little too far removed for me to take into consideration. I’m no wine expert but I know I enjoyed some wines enough to take them home. I also learned natural wines tend to have a shorter shelf life, due to the lack of or limited amount of preservatives (sulfites!). Which means, I’ll be drinking the 7 bottles I took home sooner, rather than later.