Product Review: Vegan Wines!

Long ago, back at Vida Vegan Con III (a vegan blogger convention in Austin, Texas), I led a discussion on vegan dining and booze. It wasn't a talk per se, just an open discussion on how vegans feel about vegan purity with restaurant meals and booze. The consensus in the room that day was this: Most people there felt comfortable asking a few basic questions about what was in their restaurant meal to ensure it was probably vegan, but they didn't stress too hard about shared grills or shared grease. Most felt that being too much of a vegan purist in a public space (like a restaurant) hurt the movement because it made vegans look hard to please. 

But when it came to drinking, most people in the room said they didn't focus too much on ensuring their wines or beers were vegan. If the wine or beer was listed on Barnivore, that was helpful. But so many wines and locally brewed craft beers are not listed there, and when they couldn't be sure something wasn't vegan, they would drink it anyway. I have to admit that I'm in that camp myself! But that's because it's so hard to know if your wine is vegan. There are thousands of wines not listed on Barnivore!

But what if a company made the whole process much easier? That's what Vegan Wines is doing! Vegan Wines runs an online shop and subscription service where they only sell vegan wines. So all of the guesswork is taken out of the equation! They source 100% plant-based wines from Chile, France, and Italy and ship directly to your door!

They sent me a couple bottles to try. First, I broke open the Luca Di Tomaso Scigula, an Umbrian rosato. I wasn't familiar with rosato, but turns out it's just what Italians call rosé! This wine was pleasantly tart and sour (reminded me of that twang I love from sour beers) with an oaky finish. It was perfect served chilled on a very hot summer night! 

Next, I tried the Pandolfi Price Larkun, a Chilean riesling. Now let me start by saying that I ruled out rieslings a long time ago. I had one bad, very sweet riesling and decided the style just wasn't for me. But this Pandolfi Price riesling restored my faith in this flowery white wine. This riesling wasn't too sweet at all. It was perfectly dry and had a lemony brightness that was very refreshing. I'd say it was actually my fave of the two wines!

In the Vegan Wines online shop, you can hand-select the bottles you want. But their subscription club sounds more fun. You choose between Signature (a mix of styles), Light Lovers (all whites), or Red Lovers (all reds), and they'll ship you six bottles every four months. They also have a vegan wine and cheese club where they include three wheels of vegan cheese with your wine shipment! Mom and dad, if you're reading this, here's a Christmas gift idea!

So vegans, fear no more! You don't have to accidentally drink egg albumin or other animal by-products that end up in our wines!