Cast your mind back to less than a decade ago when the concept of veganism was limited to the impression of only a handful of hippies eating lentil lasagne, or sitting on a deserted beach, singing environmental protest songs on badly tuned guitars.

This is no longer the case. Today, veganism has entered the mainstream with various American researchers identifying veganism as the number one food trend over the last three years. This trend is rampant in the world’s leading wine markets.

Just as the cosmetics, fashion and toiletries industries (to name but a few) have had to rethink their methods, wine producers have been under pressure to respond to the question of ‘what’s not vegan about grape juice?’

Many winemakers don’t consider the need to state fining agents when selling their products. However, the rising demand for ethical products coupled with the necessity to be transparent with allergens is brining wines under scrutiny.

Although this presents a challenge, it’s also seen by many as a necessary change towards ethical and sustainable practices; providing consumers the information they demand whilst offering an opportunity to revolutionise modern winemaking.

Vegan-friendly wines: it’s a thing!

According to a report by research firm GlobalData, only 1% of American consumers claimed to be vegan in 2014. In 2017, that number rose to 6%. But over the last four years, the firm reported a whopping 600% increase in people identifying themselves as vegans in the United States.

Similarly, in the United Kingdom, vegan-consumers have increased by 350% compared to a decade ago, according to research commissioned by the Vegan Society in partnership with Vegan Life magazine.

Even China is going vegan. Research predicts that China’s vegan market is set to increase to 17% in 2022. In Hong Kong, 22% of the population reports practicing some form of plant-based diet.

In Sweden, the advent of veganism has been dramatic in Scandinavia, one of South Africa’s leading wine markets. Mattias Kristianson, founder and editor of VEGO magazine says, “We’ve seen an explosion in people’s way of looking at green food. People are realising that veganism is not that weird.”

While South Africa’s reaction to global trends tend to be somewhat slower, the SA Vegan Society reports that the number of vegans in our country is doubling every two years. In an era where people are more conscious than ever about what they consume, does it make good business sense for wineries to use plant-based products or additives in their wines?

Adapting to demand

The growing generation of everyday consumers who have adopted veganism as a way of life (so-called millennials and an all-important segment of the industry’s consumer base …) are becoming increasingly vocal in questioning wineries’ decision to use animal-based products in their wines.

In an era where people are more conscious than ever about what they consume, does it make good business sense for wineries to deliberately abstain from using animal-based products in their wines, and going full-vegan?

“Ignore the reality of veganism at your own peril,” says Frank Meaker, cellar master at Org de Rac. This Swartland winery, along with its organic status, has experienced a surge in growth in the vegan-consumer wine category. “As someone who enjoys a braai and platter of cheese, I never thought the day would come when I would be admitting that veganism is a general trend among consumers,” says Frank.

Over the last four years, Franschhoek Cellar (owned by DGB) has eschewed all animal-based products such as certain fining agents that have been part of the traditional winemaking process, and is experiencing an increase in demand due to its vegan-friendly wines.

“All our wines are fully vegan now,” says winemaker Ryan Puttick. “We made a conscious decision to use plant-based fining agents instead of animal or protein-based products in our wines.”

Andrea Freeborough, head winemaker at Distell, says they’ve definitely noticed a demand for vegan wine in recent years, especially in the company’s export markets. “Our international team reported an uptake, but locally, the demand’s a lot slower.”

Andrea says Distell is adopting a phased-in approach with vegan wines in certain categories. “We’re starting with our more premium tiers. This includes wines from Durbanville Hills, Zonnebloem, Nederburg, Fleur du Cap and Pongracz at this stage.”

“In international markets, we’ve definitely seen the demand for vegan-friendly wines increase, especially in the retail space where consumers are quite interested in whether the wines are vegan or not. Locally, it’s still largely a niche category but growing rapidly,” comments Ryan.

He says the trend is not only evident among millennials, but across all consumer segments. “It’s not necessarily only the die-hard vegans who only buy vegan-friendly wines. All types of consumers are a lot more conscious about the environment and purchase products with sustainability in mind.”

Traditionally, egg white and certain fish products were used as fining agents to improve wine clarity and get rid of the cloudiness in wines to leave a clear, polished drink. Other benefits of fining agents include improved wine filterability and stability, and removing compounds that are dangerous for human health.

Distell has made conscious decision to exclude the use of all allergens (except SO2). “The only animal-based product we use is gelatine for flotation on some of our white wines, which is not currently ear-marked for our vegan range. The use of gelatine as a fining agent on our reds has also significantly decreased over the past few years. A greater move towards plant-based fining agents is certainly an area we’re exploring,” says Andrea.

Ryan says he would never bash or knock wineries who use animal-based fining agents. “There are still fantastic animal-based fining products on the market. We use plant-based fining agents not only because we’ve made a conscious decision to be more sustainable, but with plant-based fining products, there’s less risk of contamination and the process is easier to manage in the cellar,” he says.

Vegan transparency

Enartis South Africa’s general manager Lida Malandra says consumers require traceability along the entire production chain. “In fact, it often happens that animal proteins are used as additives or preservatives in so-called plant-based wine.”

She says to win over this customer, it’s necessary to adopt a policy of maximum transparency. “If you want to obtain vegan or plant-based certification for your wine, you must eliminate all substances that are not of vegetable origin, such as animal protein fining agents, from the production process.”

For years, the process of wine clarification was made possible due to the use of proteins of animal origin, such as fish gelatin, casein and egg albumin. “With Enartis’ you can say goodbye to animal protein for clarification and make high quality wines with entirely plant-based and allergen-free products suitable for the production of organic and vegan wines.”

Both Ryan and Frank are frequent users of Enartis’ range of selective plant-based fining products that are free of animal proteins, which is part of the AF (allergen-free) range of products available from Enartis.

“These fining agents are enhanced with various ingredients such as pea protein, activated chitosan and other adjuvants which can be used for flotation, preventing oxidation, removal of phenols and bitterness, whilst improving filterability, colour stability and balance and prolonging shelf-life,” says Ryan.

“By using these products you can help make your wine production sustainable while respecting the environment. You’ll also guarantee your customers full transparency with wine made with 100% additives and raw materials of vegetable origin and certified plant-based and allergen-free.”

For years, Enartis has been committed to sustainable, organic and environmentally-friendly winemaking with vegan clarification products based on vegetable protein. These products improve clarity and organoleptic characteristics while respecting wine structure. Here are some plant-based and allergen-free fining agents from Enartis.