Organic Vegan Wines (where to find them)
Many wines are filtered with gelatine (animal bones) or fish bladder (isinglass). So choose vegan wines in stores, which tend to be the ones that carry organic labels (these are also less likely to give you a hangover!)
What would help is if off licenses and supermarkets grouped them by which wines are vegan, as often you have to go trawling through the aisles, looking for a vegan logo on the bottle. Many brands are not vegan or vegetarian (for instance, some wines by Blossom Hill and even Co-op are neither).
Also read our post on sustainable sparking wines.
Most councils collect wine bottles (wrap broken glass in thick paper and bin). If bottle banks are full, there is usually a number to call (don’t leave bottles outside full banks). Rinse beforehand (you can leave on screw-top lids and labels).
For tinned wine/spritzers, pop ring-pulls back over holes before recycling (pinch tops shut) to avoid wildlife getting trapped. Send used corks to Recorked (corks are too dense to compost and choking hazards), if left around).
How much wine should we drink (?!)
If you like your wine a bit too much, know that NHS guidelines are per week:
- 6 glass of wine or
- 6 pints of beer or
- 14 units of spirits
So if you only drink wine – that’s one glass per night, with a day off! You’ll then at least be drinking within proper guidelines!
Vinca Organic Vegan Wines (in bottles or cans)
VINCA Organic Wine sells organic vegan wines in recycled aluminium bottles, that are easy to recycle. You can even earn money for your community by getting involved in local aluminium collection programmes.
The Sicilian grapes contain naturally low levels of sulphur (from fermenting yeast), around a third of levels found on supermarket wine bottles.
The cans use up to 70% less CO2 to transport than glass bottles. In four varieties (white, sparkling white, rosé and red), you can also mixed can bundles.
The company also sells a pretty cooler bag for travel, which has a reversible lid that converts into a drinks tray. Cans are not just easier to recycle, but also good for people who like a glass or two of wine, and stops you finishing off the whole bottle! Delivery is free on all orders. Trade orders are welcome.
Amie (organic vegan rosé wines)
Amie Wine is a brand of wine that offers organic rosé vegan wines, which donate a portion of sales to clean water charities. This ‘wine for friends’ is produced in the South of France.
Terra organic (cases of vegan organic wines)
Terra Organica sells nice vegan organic wines. This is an easy site to buy from, as all the wines are vegan and organic, crafted by experts and selected with care. You can buy individual bottles, pre-mixed cases or build your own wine selection, for home delivery
Goodness Direct (organic vegan wine hampers)
The Goodness Project offers many organic vegan wines, and also produces corporate gifting services. So if you fancy sending a bespoke hamper of wine and vegan chocolates to a colleague, this is the company to order from (it also plants trees for each order, and donates each month to chose animal welfare charities).
ÔPIA (organic vegan no-alcohol French wines)
ÔPIA is a French pioneer in organic no-alcohol wines. Choose from white, red, rosé or sparkling.
Other no-alcohol wines (not organic) are:
- Wednesday’s Domaine
- ISH (Denmark)
- Noughty Wines
All Shook Up Spritzers (sold in stores)
These are not organic. But if you fancy some wine (and want something a bit healthier and cheaper), look in stores for All Shook Up spritzers. In elderflower or peach flavours, these at least add some water (!) and are really nice, not too sweet. And saves you drinking a whole bottle of wine, once you’ve opened it!
