Beringer Vineyards has some vegan options

Address: 2000 Main Street
St. Helena, California, 94574
USA
Phone: (866) 708 - 9463
Fax:
Email:
URL: http://www.beringer.com/
Checked by: Uva
Double checked by: Wendi, Caitlin, Devin, Emily, John
Added: about 18 years ago
Double Checked: almost 6 years ago

Products by Beringer Vineyards:

Company email (January 2019) specific to Main + Vine range:
"Vegetarians or vegans should use caution when choosing our red wines due to the possibility that it may have been clarified with fining agents such as egg albumin, casein (from milk), gelatin, and isinglass (from fish)."

Company email (April 2018)
[same as April 2014 response]

Company email (April 2014):
"Vegetarians or vegans should use caution when choosing our red wines due to the possibility that it may have been clarified with fining agents such as egg albumin, casein (from milk), gelatin, and isinglass (from fish).

Fining agents are used to reduce harsh tannins and remove several kinds of hazes that can be found in wine. In using these agents the winemaker is further fine-tuning the structure of the wine. The use of small amounts of fining agents is generally necessary to ensure that the wine will be clear, stable, have longevity, and be enjoyable to taste.

The winemakers decide which fining agents are used and these may vary from product to product and even batch to batch (usually depending on the grapes of that particular year). It is important to note that despite fining agents being used during the winemaking process, they are removed prior to bottling. In addition, all of our wines are gluten free and the products we use to make our wines, such as yeast, fining agents, filters and barrels are also gluten free."

Company email:
Thank you for contacting us about our Beringer wines. After checking with our winemaking team, I have learned that on a very limited number of our red wines we might add casein (from milk) and albumen (egg whites). Both of these are proteins and are used as fining agents to remove tannins and reduce astringency. These are removed as precipitates and it is doubtful any traces of these proteins remain after the fining operation. It depends from year to year which red wines may be put through this process, so I can't tell you specifically which wines might be affected. On the other hand, our white and blush wines, such as Chardonnay and White Zinfandel are not fined at all. They may go through a filtering agent such as cellulose pads or diatomaceous earth. In membrane filtration the wine is passed through a thin film of plastic polymer material having uniformly sized holes. In both cases nothing is added to the wine.

Ah, sounds semi-good, but then we get company email 2:

Thank you for contacting Beringer. We do not recommend any of our wine for vegans due to the possibility that the wine has been clarified with fining agents such as egg albumin, casein, gelatin and isinglass. The winemakers decide on which fining agents are used and these may vary from product to product and even batch to batch (usually depending on the grapes of that particular year). It is important to note that despite fining agents being used during the winemaking process, they are removed prior to bottling. We appreciate your interest in our wines!

Email 3 (April 2009)
Company email:
"Thank you for contacting us about our Beringer Stone Cellars wines. We do not recommend any of our wine for vegans due to the possibility that the wine has been clarified with fining agents such as egg albumin, casein, gelatin and isinglass. The winemakers decide on which fining agents are used and these may vary from product to product and even batch to batch (usually depending on the grapes of that particular year)."