BC Vegan Wines
Whether you’re vegan or vegetarian, like to purchase locally produced wines, or are just interested in trying out new vintages, here is a handy directory of wines produced in British Columbia that are vegan.
Note: The month and year the producer’s vegan status was confirmed follows the name in parenthesis.
100% Vegan
Blasted Church Vineyards (Sept. 2008).
Blossom Winery (Jan. 2009).
Church and State Wines (Dec. 2008; Vegan since 2005 vintages).
Jackson Triggs Okanagan Estate (Dec. 2008).
Joie Wines (Dec. 2008).
Rollingdale Winery (Jan. 2009).
Rustic Roots Winery (Jan. 2009).
St Urban Winery (Jan. 2009; winery opens summer 2009).
Summerhill Pyramid Winery (Jan. 2009).
The View Winery (Jan. 2009).
Vegan-Friendly
Gabriola Island Winery (Feb. 2009)
(Only their whites are vegan. Egg white may or may not be used in their reds.)
Inniskillin Okanagan Vineyards (Dec. 2008).
(Only their reds are vegan. Milk used in their whites and ice wines.)
Vista D’Oro Winery (Jan. 2009).
(New winery. Only two releases in 2007: 2007 D’oro and 2007 Pinot Noir. Both are vegan, though check with winery on future vintages, as they could start using animal ingredients. 2007 Pinot Noir contains Cabernet from France, so not 100% local).
Not Vegan-Friendly*
Calona Vineyards (cannot guarantee animal products won’t be used in future)
Gray Monk Estate Winery (use egg whites in reds, gelatin in most whites)
Paradise Ranch Wines (uses gelatin and isinglass in their wines)
Quails’ Gate Estate Winery (producing since 1991; only 2007 vintage is vegan)
Sandhill Wines (cannot guarantee animal products won’t be used at any point)
Tantalus Vineyards (states animal products not used in any wines, though 2007 Pinot Noir used egg whites. Cannot guarantee animal products will not be used in future vintages)
*What makes a wine not vegan? In the process of producing a wine, many producers use fining agents that help to clarify their final product. Some of these fining agents include isinglass (fish swimbladders), casein (from the stomachs of calves), egg whites, gelatin, chitosan (i.e. from shrimp shells), milk, and blood. Other wine producers use products such as compressed paper, clay, and other plant-based and alternative fining agents that don’t require the use of animal-derived ingredients. These animal-based fining agents are also used in many beers (with the exception of some German beers).
Note that not all organic wines are vegan. Some
organic wine producers do use some animal ingredients in their wines.
The use of caesin, isinglass, egg whites, and milk are acceptable
according to Canadian federal organic production standards.
For a comprehensive list of vegan wines, beers, and other alcohol from around the world, visit Barnivore and the Vegan Wine Guide.
Page last updated: January 13, 2009
Fantastic! Thank you so much for this list! I’ve been looking on http://www.barnivore.com, but cross-referencing the vegan-ness with the location of the winery seemed daunting. So thanks for putting the work in for me!
Thanks so much for the information! A couple of these listings came as a surprise to me, namely Summerhill and Quail’s Gate. I visited both wineries last summer and specificially asked if their wines were vegan. At Summerhill I was told that all their wines are fined using egg whites, and at Quail’s Gate I was told that all their wines are vegan. I’ve just sent emails to both wineries to see if they can confirm whether or not their wines use animal products. Whatever they say, though, I am now wondering how much we can really trust the information.
So just a follow-up regarding my inquiries to Quail’s Gate and Summerhill wineries. I received a reply from the winemaker at Summerhill who says that he never uses animal based fining ingredients in any of their wines. The reply I got from Quail’s Gate just today said the following:
Unfortunately, the Epicur Vegan website has been mis informed in regards to the production of our wines as almost all the past vintages at Quails’ Gate have been 100% vegan including the 2007 and 2008 vintages. (currently in circulation) Although vegan wine production can not be guaranteed every year it is something that we strive towards and so far have been able to maintain.
So, um, I guess that means that Quail’s Gate wines are “almost” always vegan friendly, but we can never really know for sure? LOL
By the way, one resource I recently discovered (which could be of some help, at least, to anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch) is an application called Vegan Xpress, which lists what items are vegan at a large number of chain restaurants, which junk food items are vegan (not helpful to me since I don’t generally eat that stuff, but hey, it’s nice to know), and also includes a list of vegan wines and beers. It’s easier to use than Barnivore because it only lists booze that *is* vegan, as opposed to having to scroll through and check each item one by one. I do wish it listed wines by country of origin, as it would make it easier to find them in the liquor store, but if worst comes to worst I’m sure the liquor store staff could help with that.
And the more I think about this, the more I think it would be great fun to have a vegan wine-tasting club in Vancouver!