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Vegan Friendly Wines - A Quick Guide
Can Wines be Vegan Friendly?
In a word ‘yes’.
The core focus is around (1) how the wine is fined / clarified and (2) does that process take place with an animal-based product? The existence of unfined wines is nothing new but in the main most wines will be clarified to some extent.
The most commonly used fining products include:
- Casein (a milk protein)
- Albumin (egg whites)
- Gelatin (animal protein)
- Isinglass (fish bladder protein)
Fining with casein and albumin is usually acceptable by most vegetarians but all four are off limits for vegans because tiny traces of the fining agent may be absorbed into the wine during the fining process.
But there are vegan friendly alternatives. These include:
- Bentonite: a clay-based agent
- Activated charcoal
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Preservative Wines - A Quick Guide
Any assessment or discussion of Preservative Wines revolves nearly entirely around the absence of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) or its wine label alter ego ‘added preservative 220’. It is important to note the use of the term ‘added’ as SO2 can be produced naturally during fermentation. So in this respect, technically speaking, any label proclaiming the wine to be ‘preservative free’ is not entirely accurate.
The Australian maximum legal limit is 250mg/L for dry wines but it would be unusual to find a wine’s content anywhere near this number. Sometimes winemaking notes or the back label may refer to ‘sulfites’. This refers to the presence of Bisulphite and Sulphurous Acid and must be disclosed if the wine contains more than 10mg/L.
The good news is that the use of such additives appears to be on a downward trend. As winemaking and viticulture skills constantly improve the underlying fruit is in better condition and this lessens the need for sulphur dioxide to patch up any weak spots.
The addition of sulphur dioxide nearly always bolsters the wine’s ability to remain ‘fresh’ for an expended period thus it’s always a good to stick to young wines when shopping for a preservative free drop.
For details on Preservative Free wines take a look at the Travelling Corkscrew's excellent overview here.
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Biodynamic Wines - A Quick Guide
Biodynamic wines adheres to all organic criteria, plus the doctrines established by Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and academic known for exploring the connection of science and spirituality. The principles, as they relate to grape growing, include:
(1) Improving soil quality through crop rotation and allowing a diverse set of crops to grow within the vineyard to promote a more complex ecosystem.
(2) Planting, harvesting and pruning practices are determined by a specific calendar, taking into account both lunar cycles and the position of the sun and planets.
There are numerous accredited entities around the world that provide Biodynamic certification. These include:
- Demeter Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (Global)
- ACO Certification (Australia)
- BioGrow (NZ)
- Biodyvin / ECOCERT (France)