As natural wine continues to gain popularity, many people are interested in exploring this style of wine, which is made using minimal intervention and without the use of chemicals or other additives. One question that we often get is whether or not natural wines are vegan-friendly. While it's true that many natural wines are vegan, not all of them are.
Some winemakers use animal-derived products like egg whites or gelatin to clarify the wine. These products help to remove impurities and sediment from the wine, resulting in a clearer, more stable finished product. However, this can be problematic for people following a vegan diet. Fortunately, there are many natural wine producers who use vegan-friendly methods to clarify their wines, such as bentonite clay or activated charcoal. If you read a description of a wine that says "unfined and unfiltered" no clarification has taken place at all, making the wine inherently vegan. If a bottle looks cloudy, that's another sign. In conventional winemaking using animal products is more common.
If you're interested in exploring natural wine and are also following a vegan diet, it's important to do your research and look for wines that are labeled as vegan-friendly or ask your wine shop's staff; they either know or can look for these wines for you. The natural wine world typically has a bit of a bias against any certification or labeling method, so unfortunately you will not often find a vegan guarantee on natural wines. We're here to help.
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