Is Wine Vegan?

Is wine vegan? I questioned this when transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle. Yes, I love wine, and I indulge from time e to time. But what I learned shocked me! Interestingly enough, all wine is not vegan! So for those who love wine and follow a plant-based lifestyle, read on before drinking another glass of wine. 

Here's the problem; there's very little regulation of the wine industry. For example, winemakers are not required to disclose on the label what's actually in the bottle.

You read that right!  You and I could start producing wine and add whatever we want to the bottle without disclosing it.

Say hello to additives such as sugar, sulfates, synthetic pesticides, chemicals, animal products, and food coloring. Yuck!

So, when I found an organic, Scout & Cellar, and organic vegan winemaker, I was excited.

All wines at Scout & Cellar are farmed sustainably without pesticides or other chemicals. Crafted without any added preservatives, sulfates, animal bi-products, or sweeteners, the fresh flavors as nature emerge.

At Scout & Cellar, all wine goes through two rounds of independent lab testing to ensure purity. As a result, the wine is held to a higher standard from seed to the cellar, farming, fermenting, and bottling.

Additionally, all of the wines are vegan. There are many steps in the art of winemaking. It starts in the vineyard and then gets much more complicated in the cellar.

Most wine goes through "fining," removing harmless particles in wine to make it clear and flawless. Additionally, the process removes larger particles during filtration. 

Commonly used fining agents include:

• Casein (a milk protein)s
• Albumin (egg whites)
• Gelatin (animal protein)
• Isinglass (fish bladder protein)
• Bentonite (clay)
• Mass-produced wine, while made from grapes, the grapes are continually sprayed with
  pesticides and then harvested with a machine.

From there, you can expect the following added to your wine:

•  Up to 350ppm of sulfites
• Up to 16g of added sugar or sweetener concentrate
• Ferrocyanide
• Ammonium phosphate
• Copper sulfate
• Mega-Purple (wine teeth, anyone?)
• GMO ingredients
• Synthetic pesticides
• Basically 250+ FDA-approved additives. That's some scary stuff.

So let's discover a bit about clean-crafted wines

SUSTAINABLE WINES

• If this is on the label, you never know if it's free of chemicals. Sustainable
  typically means minimal use of chemicals.

MADE WITH ORGANIC GRAPES

• A certified organic winery with organic or native yeast and organic additives contains up to 100ppm of sulfites.

ORGANIC WINES

• A certified organic winery with organic or native yeast and organic additives contains less than 10 ppm of naturally occurring sulfites.

BIODYNAMIC WINES

• Advances organic farming a step further, creating very healthy ecosystems.
• Biodynamic grape growers treat the vineyard, including the soil, plants, animals, as an
  interconnected ecological whole.
• No chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides are permitted.
• May contains up to 100ppm of sulfites.

What does clean-crafted wine mean, and how does it compare to other wines?

Clean-Crafted™ is a wine created from sustainable, organic, and/or biodynamic farming methods. Most are harvested from established old vines and grown naturally without pesticides, chemicals, additives, or sugar. All wines are vinified by hand. They typically contain less than 50ppm sulfites but are constantly under 100ppm and are full of pure deliciousness.