If you’re vegan or lactose intolerant, you don’t have to give up enjoying a good glass of wine.

Why isn’t wine automatically vegan or lactose free?

Some wine producers will use a finishing process called fining to remove unwanted particles or eliminate smells before bottling. During fining, additives are introduced to the wine. While vegan and lactose free fining agents are available, most producers use one or a combination of the following:

• Casein, a milk protein
• Egg whites
• Gelatin
• Isinglass, a fish bladder protein

Labeling of these ingredients isn’t mandated, so unless wine is labeled vegan, you can’t be sure these ingredients weren’t used in the wine making process.

Luckily, there are a handful of wineries that are making vegan wine.

These producers are special because they’re small, family owned businesses using sustainable or organic farming practices. Which means, in addition to not getting these vegan unfriendly additives, you also avoid synthetic fertilizers and GMO’s.  So raise a glass and enjoy your vino worry and guilt free.

Find vegan wine on Love Local

Browse our database to find small, sustainable, vegan friendly wines:  https://www.lovelocal.com/products/vegan-wine/