Vegans are getting more wine and better labelling, but what does it mean?

The debate about Vegan wines has been a topic on social media this week as plans to improve labelling have been expanded in Majestic and the Co-op. Majestic has added Vegan and Vegetarian labelling to wines on their website, while the Co-op is increasing its range of Vegan and Vegetarian friendly wines.

While grapes are vegetarian, many wineries use egg whites to help clarify the wines. Egg whites, along with milk and fish, can sometimes be used to clean wine. Normally wines that use plant-based fining agents can be labelled as suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians.

How Vegans interpret this does vary. Many might accept that a spider or other insects harvested with the grapes, and known in wine circles as Matter Other than Grapes (MOG) would be acceptable. But many would not tolerate bees wax on the cork, and others would not countenance a cow horn buried in the ground that is fundamental to biodynamic wines. So what's acceptable and what's not is still hugely ambiguous.