How to Spot a Truly Sustainable Vegan Wine
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.
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).
Before recycling cans, rinse then pop ring-pulls over holes. Then use your fingers/thumb to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Send used corks to Recorked (corks are too dense to compost and choking hazards), if left around).
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.
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!
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 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 Organica was founded by former leading buyers for major supermarkets, who decided to bring their knowledge to sourcing vegan organic wines from across the world to your doorstep. Usually from independent and family-run wineries in Europe.
As of course it’s good to have ‘low wine miles’, these wines tend to be from Italy (rather than the USA or Australia), so you are supporting local family vineyards over the border. Wholesale orders are welcome, for shops, off licenses, restaurants and hotels.
You can also buy pre-mixed cases or build your own case. Isn’t it great to finally find somewhere that you can buy all your wines of every ilk, knowing that all of the mare both vegan and organic? If they can do this, why can’t all the others?
And here’s a bit of knowledge we didn’t know. Although it’s best to drink opened bottles of red and white wine within 48 hours, apparently if kept in the fridge, white wine can be kept for up to a month!
Try this red Rioja Crianza wine sold in cases of 3 or 6 bottles, ideal to accompany a Sunday vegan roast dinner or a homemade moussaka. Spain’s best-known wine is made near the Pyrenees region, on the border with France.
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!
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. Ideal for weddings.
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!
