why is some wines unsuitable for vegetarians?im guessing its finings but what exactly is finings ?

Answer 1

All sorts of stuff is used in making wine that isn't suitable for vegetarians and vegans, isinglass (a very pure form of gelatine from sturgeon fish bladders), gelatine (extract from boiled cow's or pig's hooves and sinews), egg whites (or albumin) and caseins (a protein from milk), and very occasionally blood. The Co-op actually label their wine when it's vegetarian and vegan on the label which makes it so much easier, then you don't have to have the hassle of making your own. The link below will take you to a good informative website about veggie/vegan wines. Hope that's helped :)

Answer 2

Finings were originally Fish Swim Bladders extract and are used in beer mainly to clarify the product. However often these days a synthetic substiture is used.

I have never heard of finings being used in Wine, but I suppose it is a possibility.

Another one could be if the wine is being artificially coloured. Often a red colour comes from Cochineal (basically crushed beetles!!) Again, not sure why it would be used in wine unless added to bolster the natural colours.

I can't really think of anything else however in the wine production process that would be unsuitable for vegetarians

Answer 3

Finings are used to clarify wine. Some types of finings are Isinglass, gelatin and some other non-vegetarian substances.
(By the way, there are other types of finings such as irish moss. and the wine/beer naturally will clear up on its own... these ways are suitable for vegetarians of course)

Being a home beer brewer, I can tell you that all kinds of nastiness (yeast and proteins) floats around in the beer... When I leave the beer to settle, usually a week or two, the yeast will settle to the bottom... and the beer will clear up on its own. But to speed up the process, things like isinglass are used... (Isinglass is made from fish swim bladders)

Here is a website with some info on this subject and also a list of vegetarian wines, beers, and liquors:
http://tastebetter.com/features/booze

I also wrote a blog about it, if your interested:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-VhTVUj05cqpbgu0GOsuJrFedmQ--?cq=1&l=6&u=8&mx=8&lmt=5
(I like to advertise my blog every chance I get :])
Hope that helped.

Answer 4

Some wine are unsuitable because they are made with animal products for example animal tissue and other horrid parts. I see it on a programme. Some wines will have on thelabel suitable for vegetarians or you can go to the vegetarian society website to see which one's are suitable

Answer 5

Finings are added to the wine after fermentation has finished to clear the wine (by collecting any residual yeast cells and causing them to fall to the bottom of the fermentation vessel). Finings can be made of "kieselgur" (a type of clay), seaweed extract, or animal derived protein. If the latter, the wine is not "vegan".

Answer 6

Wine finings is often isinglass or charcoal

Isinglass is the swim bladder of a sturgeon fish

Charcoal is actualyl nothing of the sort, its ground and fired bones.

About 80% of wines have these finings in them making them unsuitable for veggies.

I think its best to make your own.

Answer 7

Finings can be made from several different animal sources, some from fish scales, egg shells/whites or gelatin just to name a few. It is used in some alcohol production as a filter to remove proteins, yeast or other things to change the taste of the beverage.

Not all alcohol producers use them. There are several sites online that list vegan friendly booze if you are unable to find out from the manufacturer.

Answer 8

Some finings include gelatine and egg white as ingredients. Kieselsol and Chitosan (there are more but these are the most common) are finings which clear the wine of cloudiness.

Answer 9

What kind of wine are you drinking?

I recommend you don't buy varieties with screw caps.

But seriously, I go to the Okanagan every summer to visit a friend who owns a number of vineyards and his own winery and I have never seen anything that a vegetarian or vegan would shun, other than some varieties of wine is filtered with activated (bone) charcoal and most charcoal is derived from animal bone.

Answer 10

I thought "Miss V" was a raw vegan? In that case, boiling wine would not be raw.
Anyway, http://tastebetter.com/features/booze gives you a list of wines and beers, and the reasons why some kinds are not vegan.