Vegan Wine: Fining Agents, Labels and How to Check

Vegan wine is wine made without animal products, and the part that decides it is usually fining, not the grapes. Some winemakers clear their wine with gelatin, fish isinglass, egg white or milk casein, so a wine can be made from nothing but grapes and still not be vegan. Others use clay, plant proteins or no fining at all. Because US labels rarely say which, the reliable signs are a vegan statement from the producer, a vegan certification mark, or “unfined” on the label. Here is how fining works, which agents are which, and how to check a bottle.

Why some wine isn’t vegan

Young wine is often hazy with tiny particles and proteins. Wine Spectator’s Dr. Vinny describes fining as adding a substance that binds those solids and proteins so they clump together and settle out; the clear wine is then drawn off the sediment (racking). He says egg whites can be used this way in red, white and pink wines alike, and that some winemakers believe fining also softens astringent or bitter notes.

In theory the fining agent leaves with the sediment. Dr. Vinny says no trace should remain in the finished wine, and in his 2018 answer he notes there is no evidence that any does. He also says some vegans still avoid wines that use animal products in any way, which is why the agent matters even if nothing ends up in the glass.

Fining agents: animal and vegan

The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) names the main animal-derived agents as gelatine, egg albumin, milk casein and fish isinglass. Its winemaking FAQ explains what each does, and the EU’s list of authorized winemaking practices (Regulation 2019/934) shows which alternatives are allowed in Europe.

Agent	Source	Vegan?	What it’s used for (AWRI)
Gelatin	Animal protein	No	Reduces bitterness, astringency and browning
Isinglass	Fish collagen	No	Clarifies white wine
Egg white (albumin)	Eggs	No	Softens harsh astringency in red wine
Casein, potassium caseinate, skim milk	Milk	No	Reduces bitterness and browning in white wine and Sherry
Bentonite	Clay	Yes	Removes proteins from white wine and juice
PVPP	Synthetic polymer	Yes	Reduces browning and astringency in white wine
Carbon	Charcoal for winemaking	Yes	Removes off-flavors and odors; reduces browning or removes color

The EU list adds several more non-animal options: pea, potato and wheat proteins, yeast protein extracts, silicon dioxide, kaolin (another clay), and chitosan and chitin-glucan derived from the fungus Aspergillus niger. The AWRI is also researching yeast and plant-based proteins as non-animal fining agents that could lower costs and remove the need for allergen labels.

Dr. Vinny adds that bentonite and seaweed are often used in wines marketed as vegan-friendly. In our view, a producer who names the agent it uses (“fined with bentonite” or “pea protein”) is giving you more useful information than a vague “vegan-friendly”.

Unfined and unfiltered wine

Some winemakers skip fining altogether. Dr. Vinny’s advice for anyone avoiding fined wines is to look for “unfined and unfiltered” on the label. Wineries don’t have to print it, so he suggests checking the winery’s website too.

What labels must show

In the EU

European wine labels must name egg and milk products used in making the wine. Article 41 of EU Regulation 2019/33 applies the general allergen rules to wine, with the terms listed in its Annex I:

• Egg: “egg”, “egg protein”, “egg product”, “egg lysozyme” or “egg albumin”.
• Milk: “milk”, “milk products”, “milk casein” or “milk protein”.

These terms may be accompanied by a pictogram shown in Annex I, Part B. Fish isinglass and gelatin are not on that list, so an EU label without egg or milk terms is not proof that a wine is vegan.

In Australia

The AWRI says Australian wine labels must declare casein, potassium caseinate, egg white (including lysozyme) and milk, along with added sulfites at 10 mg/kg or more. Since 25 February 2024 the required names are “sulfite”, “milk” and “egg”. Isinglass has been exempt from labeling in wine and beer since a 2009 change to the Food Standards Code.

In the US

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) says allergen labeling on wine is voluntary under its interim rule, in effect since July 26, 2006. A proposal to make it mandatory (Notice No. 62) has not become final. There is one catch for producers who choose to label: if any major food allergen is declared, all of them used in making the wine must be listed, including those used as fining or processing agents, in a form such as “Contains: milk and egg”. So a US bottle that says nothing about allergens tells you nothing either way. Our guide on how to read a wine label covers what US labels do have to show.

Note: Sulfites are not an animal product, so a “contains sulfites” line has nothing to do with vegan status.

Vegan certification

A certification mark is the clearest sign on the shelf. The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark, which it calls the original vegan labeling scheme in the world, has certified products since 1990 and covers more than 70,000 products worldwide; its team reviews each application with the manufacturer. Some producers simply say “certified vegan” without naming the certifier, as one Prosecco brand does in our vegan Prosecco guide. In our view, a named certifier is worth more than an unnamed one, because you can look up its standards.

How to check any bottle

1. Look for a vegan mark or statement on the back label.
2. Check the producer’s own product page. Make sure it matches your exact wine; one winery can fine different wines differently.
3. Look for “unfined”, which means no fining agent was used.
4. Read the allergen line on European bottles. Egg or milk terms mean the wine isn’t vegan; their absence doesn’t settle it, because isinglass and gelatin don’t have to be listed.
5. Ask the producer which fining agents it used for that wine and vintage. We’d ask that specific question rather than “is it vegan friendly?”, which invites a vague answer.

Don’t assume “organic” means vegan. An organic claim doesn’t tell you how the wine was clarified, so look for a vegan claim as well.

Vegan sparkling wine and Prosecco

Sparkling wine follows the same rules: it depends on how each producer clarifies the wine. We checked which Prosecco brands say on their own websites that their wine is vegan in our guide to vegan Prosecco. In our view, that “producer says so” test is the right one for any style: retailer tags and online lists can be useful leads, but the winery’s own statement or a certification mark is what to trust.