Vegan Wine

Wine stops being vegan when animal-derived fining agents are used during production. These are added to clarify and stabilize the wine, and even though they are filtered out before bottling, the use of animal products is enough to make the wine unsuitable for vegans.

Fining agents are substances added to remove haze, sediment, and harsh compounds so a wine looks bright and clear. Animal-based ones include egg white, milk protein, isinglass from fish, and gelatin. Plant and mineral alternatives such as bentonite clay are vegan-friendly.

Most natural wine is vegan because growers typically bottle unfined and unfiltered, but it is not guaranteed. A few use animal fining even in low-intervention wines, so it is always worth checking. Every wine in this collection has been confirmed vegan.

No. Vegan refers to the absence of animal products in the cellar, while organic refers to how the grapes are farmed. A wine can be vegan without being organic, or organic without being vegan, though many natural wines happen to be both.

Cloudiness usually means the wine was left unfined and unfiltered, which is common in vegan and natural wine. The haze is harmless suspended sediment. If you prefer a clearer pour, stand the bottle upright for a day or decant gently off the sediment.

Look for a vegan logo or the words unfined and unfiltered on the label, since neither uses animal fining. When the label is silent it can be hard to know, which is why we have done the work and curated only vegan-friendly bottles here.