A UK supermarket is working with winemakers to put an end to animal fining agents to being used in the production of the wine it sells.
Last year was considered by many as the greatest year for veganism yet and 2018 is already stacking up to be even better. A record number of people have pledged to go vegan this January and many people are looking to ditch traditional western diets that are full of animal products in place of a plant based diet, vegan alcohol included. The Co-op, a popular UK supermarket that is known for its commitment to providing consumers with fairtrade products, is looking to work with winemakers to ensure the public has plenty of vegan wine options.
Many wines and other alcohol are considered unsuitable for vegan diets, as the fining agents used to filter wine are derived from animal sources. Some common fining agents include egg whites, casein (a protein from cows’ milk), gelatin and, isinglass (fish bladders) – some alcohol is even sweetened with honey. Recently, plant based fining agents, such as ones made from potato, clay or peas have seen a rise in popularity.
category trading manager for Co-op wines, Simon Cairns stated: “We are anticipating vegan wines to pick up momentum throughout 2018, so our range will be expanding throughout the year and we will continue to challenge suppliers to make wines vegan where they can without affecting the attributes of the liquid.”
As such, they have pledged to launch expand the vegan wine range they offer to include 100 options by the end of the year. Eight of these will launch in February, in time for you to celebrate your Veganuary success!
Majestic Wines, another wine seller in the UK, rebranded their website last year, to enable each wine to be labeled with a vegan or vegetarian symbol. They currently stock 32 vegan-friendly wines, a selection which is expected to increase as winemakers phase out animal fining agents.
To check if alcohol is vegan or not, Barnivore is a free online directory – with 36,000+ listings, you can easily type in the name of your booze to find out if it is animal-free.
Cheers to that!
If you’re looking to take the pledge to go vegan this January, it’s not too late. You can sign up here!
