Is Your Wine Vegan? How to Tell (and Why Most Labels Won't Say)

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Wine is fermented grape juice, so it ought to be vegan by default. Surprisingly, plenty of it is not, and the reason has nothing to do with what goes into the bottle and everything to do with how the wine is clarified before it gets there. Here is what makes a wine non-vegan, and how to find the ones that are.

Wine Is Grapes, So What’s the Problem?

Young wine is often hazy with tiny particles of yeast, proteins and other matter. To clear it, winemakers use a step called fining, adding an agent that binds to those particles and pulls them out. The catch is that several traditional fining agents are animal-derived:

Ethical Drinking on Sommo — AI Wine Scanner, WSET Prep & Wine Journal App

Is Your Wine Vegan? How to Tell (and Why Most Labels Won't Say)

Wine Is Grapes, So What’s the Problem?