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Whether you prefer red, white or even bubbly, you can find a bottle that doesn’t contain animal products
Vegan wines are more popular than ever, helped by a recent surge in people choosing a more plant-based diet. One survey found the number of vegans in Great Britain rose by 1.1 million between 2023 and 2024, while research by Ipsos in 2022 found 46 per cent of Brits aged 16 to 75 were considering reducing their intake of animal products.
Luckily, it’s becoming increasingly easy to find vegan products in supermarkets and on restaurant menus. But it gets a little more confusing when deciding what to drink. Just because wine is made from grapes, doesn’t automatically make it a vegan-friendly choice.
Animal-based fining agents, including egg whites and gelatine, are often used in winemaking, to soften the wine, make it clearer and reduce its bitterness. Though these are removed by filtration, so they’re not strictly considered ingredients, it’s possible some traces could remain, and, either way, it still means animal products are being used as part of the winemaking process.
There’s no need to go teetotal if you’ve sworn off animal products, though. Winemakers are increasingly meeting demand by finding alternatives that are suitable for vegans. “Several non-animal fining products, such as bentonite clay and pea protein, are now widely available,” says Dan Farrell-Wright, director at independent British wine merchant Wickhams. “There’s little evidence to suggest any effect on taste, either.”
As not every wine will state whether or not it’s suitable for vegans, we’ve done the hard work for you and tested countless bottles, to help you find your new favourite vegan-friendly vino.
We uncorked, sniffed and swirled a range of vegan wines to find our favourites, trying every one at the recommended temperature and sipping each in isolation to savour its flavours and aromas. We also tasted all the whites alongside each other, then did the same with reds and fizz, to find the wines we’d gladly return to. We also tested our favourites with food, to see which paired particularly well with vegan meals and which were better enjoyed on their own.
There’s no need to struggle to find a vegan wine, as there’s a great range available at every price point, from budget reds to good champagne. For a can’t-go-wrong white, we’d recommend Adnams white burgundy, which will taste great year-round. When only a red will do, choose Rosade Furlane merlot Venezia Giulia IGT for astonishing versatility and moreish fruit flavours that are a dream paired with almost any food.
Wines featured are chosen on merit by our writers but The Independent works with Perfect Cellar to offer readers wine choices and will earn commission if readers choose to buy their wines via a link from this Independent.co.uk article.
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