Conventional producers do all kinds of things to manipulate the taste and appearance of their wines. Fining is one of them. It’s the process of clarifying wine by adding substances that bind unwanted particles and make them easier to remove.
This process is a problem for vegans because those substances are often animal derived. Two common fining agents are egg albumen and isinglass, a protein found in fish bladders.
Many natural winemakers believe that the fining process isn’t necessary and can even be detrimental. They say fining removes some of the vital characteristics of the wine, like softening flavour or removing compounds that allow it to develop over time.
All the wines featured here are either fined with non-animal derived products or are completely un-fined, in which case they may appear a little cloudy. All these wines avoid the use of animal derivatives.
