Best vegan wine

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So what is vegan wine? Traditionally, animal products such gelatine, isinglass (made from fish bladders), milk proteins and egg whites have been used as fining agents to clarify wine. They are added to the top of the vat and adhere to impurities held in suspension in the liquid as they sink to the bottom. They are filtered out, along with the impurities, before the wine is bottled – so the finished wine contains no animal products but makers are increasingly using vegan-friendly fining agents, including bentonite clay, carbon and proteins derived from peas and potatoes, which do the job just as well.

Labelling can be a minefield. Fining agents don’t need to be disclosed on labels, apart from egg whites and milk proteins, as they are allergens. Official vegan certification is a time-consuming and expensive process so many wineries simply don’t bother, and they may or may not mark their wines as vegan. Having said that, it’s fairly easy to find the info on retailer or winery websites, or via the QR codes that often appear on bottles.

It should be noted that some wines, including most natural wines, are bottled without any fining, as the impurities in the wine are deemed an integral part of their character, adding extra interest and texture. This is why they are often slightly hazy. However, biodynamic viticulture uses preparations made from animal dung, sometimes packed into cow horns, so biodynamic wines aren’t vegan in the strictest sense.

More than 60% of wines are now vegan-friendly, a threefold increase since 2014, and this continues to rise with each vintage. Restaurants and retailers are keen to take them on – Majestic’s range classified as vegan has increased 75% since 2019, while M&S has announced that all its own-label wines will be vegan by 2022.

See the results of our 2022 wine awards vegan category below.

Five vegan wines to try

St Laurent 2018 Canned Wine Co, £16.30 (three cans), Canned Wine Co

With bright autumn berries and aromatic spices, this is lovely slightly chilled.

Winemaster’s Lot Vacqueyras Blanc, £9.99, Aldi

Classy white Rhône gently aged in oak barrels with vibrant notes of baked apples, almond blossom and savoury nuts.

A bottle of Winemaster’s Lot Vacqueyras Blanc

Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2018, £12.99, Ocado

From a forward-thinking organic winery in Sicily – ripe black cherries, silky spices and a touch of leather lifted with a bracing freshness.

A bottle of Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2018

La Ferme Saint-Martin ‘Les Romanins’ 2020, £14.95, Les Caves

A blend of organic grenache and syrah made with native yeasts, bottled unfiltered and unfined. Robust with bramble fruit, liquorice and black pepper.

A bottle of La Ferme Saint-Martin ‘Les Romanins’ 2020

Tesco Finest Blanquette de Limoux, £9.50, Tesco

Made in the same way as champagne but at a kinder price. Soft bubbles, peachy fruit, toasted brioche and a crisp, clean finish.

A bottle of Tesco Finest Blanquette de Limoux

Here are the results of our 2022 wine awards vegan category

How we chose the winners

The olive team chose 20 categories for own-brand and retailer exclusive supermarket wines, covering different styles, occasions and price points. Whether you need budget bottles for everyday drinking, wines to impress at your next dinner party or wallet-friendly fizz to buy by the case for celebrations, we’ve got you covered. The supermarkets were invited to enter one wine per category (so they had to choose carefully). Every wine was blind tasted by a panel of olive judges (led by olive wine columnist, drinks author and sommelier Kate Hawkings, with Fortnum & Mason drink writer of the year, Henry Jeffreys) and we awarded winner accolades to our favourites. In some categories, where the standard was high, we awarded joint winners. So if you see those labels on your next shop – trust in us. These bottles are brilliant!