Schmitt Sohne Franz Keller Baden Wurttemberg Estate Wines (pre-2015) is Not Vegan Friendly

Company email (April 2018)
"While it is true that our company has used egg protein and/or gelatine as a fining agent in the past, we no longer use these agents anymore. For quite a while now we have exclusively relied on Bentonite, which is completely vegan and vegetarian friendly, as a fining agent.

"Also, please note that we no longer represent Markus Molitor, so we cannot speak for them. The estates that we exclusively work with, that are listed on your website, are Franz Keller and Schloss Vollrads. I have double checked with them and Franz Keller confirmed that they also use Bentonite as a fining agent. Schloss Vollrads started using only Bentonite in 2015 so that vintage and all younger wines are also suitable for vegetarians.

"...we initiated the transition in 2015. All wines bottled after this do not contain any animal (by-)products."

Company email (December 2017)
"Please note that our wines - while suitable for vegetarians - are not vegan as we sometimes use protein sourced from egg whites for the refining process."

Company email (August 2017) for Relax Wines:
"We don't use any animal or dairy products during the production or filtration of any of our wines. We use Bentonite to fine or clarify our wines which is volcanic ash and therefore qualifies us as Vegan friendly."

Company email (December 2012):
"Schmitt Sohne rarely has to fine our wines... we normally let them settle by themselves and filter before bottling. On the few occasions when the wine is not crystal clear we will use Bentonite as a fining agent. Bentonite is from volcanic ash and has a negative charge which attracts suspended particles in wine and causes them to settle to the bottom of the tank. We do not use any animal by-products and are completely in accordance with vegan guidelines"

Company email: Jan 2011
"We use animal by-products during the fining process."

Company email: Aug 2009
"Thank you for your email and the interest in our wines. We do use pig gelatin for the treatment process of our wines, but it is removed completely with several filtration processes."

About Relax Wines specifically: AUG 09
"We use egg white by-products during the fining stage and although they are completely filtered out our wines do not qualify as vegan-friendly."