Fetzer Red Wine is Not Vegan Friendly

Company email (January 2018)
"We use a “tannin fining” process for our red wines in which egg whites are added to aid in removing unwanted tannins. This process was discovered ages ago to be an effective way to improve the flavor of red wines by limiting the astringency caused by the tannins. The egg whites settle to the bottom and are then filtered out. No residue of the egg whites remains in the wine.

"For our white wines, we use a “protein fining”' or “clarification” process using Bentonite, a naturally occurring form of clay, to remove the “haze” of proteins present in the wine. Again, filtering leaves no residue remaining in the wine."

Company email (April 2016) re: 1000 Stories:
"We do fine with egg whites and only bottle at a single facility."

Company email (September 2015):
"We do not use soy-based products in our winemaking process; however, we sometimes use potassium caseinate as a fining agent in just a few of our white wine lots. Casein is derived from milk. Most of the casein is removed in the winemaking process, but trace amounts may be present in the final wine. Our Winemaker Charlie Gilmore, has a very hands-off approach to winemaking and strive to let the natural fruit shine through. Fining, however, reduces sediment and cloudiness and ensures that the wine that ends up in your glass is stabilized and clear. "

Company email (March 2015):
"We don't market our wines as being vegan, because we use some animal by-products as fining agents in some of our red and blush wines. After using these products, the wines are filtered and no residue of these agents remains in the wine. These fining practices are standard in the wine industry globally. The bottom line: red and blush wines use animal by-products, whites don't."

Company email (December 2012):
"In response, while we do offer our various product lists, some products in our stores and the selections offered may actually vary somewhat by state and region. The primary reason for this is that we also attempt to source products locally whenever we can, as we also do not ship our products over really long distances. Our lists are also not all-inclusive, and are offered moreso as a guideline of possible product selections.

In response, to your inquiry regarding our possible vegan wine options, we are enclosing a list of possible vegan wine selections below:

Bonterra-Whites are vegan
Castle Rock-All are vegan
Charles Shaw-Reds are vegan *occasionally gelatin is used in the whites' refining processes, but that it is removed from the end product
Cline Cellars-All are vegan
Fetzer-Whites are vegan
Georges Dubeouf-All are vegan
Kendall Jackson-Whites are vegan
Rosenblum Cellars-All are vegan"

Company email: July 2010 & Oct 2010
"We use a "tannin fining" process for our red wines in which egg whites are added to aid in removing unwanted tannins. This process was discovered ages ago to be an effective way to improve the flavor of red wines by limiting the astringency caused by the tannins. The egg whites settle to the bottom and are then filtered out. No residue of the egg whites remains in the wine.

For our white wines, we use a "protein fining"' or "clarification" process using Bentonite, a naturally occurring form of clay, to remove the "haze" of proteins present in the wine. Again, filtering leaves no residue remaining in the wine.

Both of these fining practices are standard in the wine industry globally. The bottom line: red wines use animal by-products, white wines don't."

Company email:
"We use organic egg whites in the fining process of our red wines. However, our white wines are free of any animal products and are vegan friendly. "