Vegan Wine?

A Post by Pecos, the Greenhorn of Terra Sávia,
While visiting Earthbeam, a health food store in Burlingame, CA the other day, I came across a handout on the different types of organic wines, which as we know, can be somewhat confusing. To add another layer to the confusion however, there was a snippet about vegan wines. I've heard the term "vegan wine" before but didn't really pay much attention to it. This time, as I've become more involved in this family business I figured this was a good question for Señor Jimmy Chardonnay(Milone), our resident wine sensei.  Since I was driving at the time of said inquiry I wasn't able to write down his answer but I did manage to retain the crucial bit of information which answered my question; there are some animal products, the most well known being egg whites, that are used in the fining process.
Fining is NOT how certain wines earn the moniker of "Fine Wine" In winemaking fining is the process  of clarifying wine by removing all or at least most of the suspended particles.  Certain fining agents are used to do this, all of which are animal derivatives, others are chemical and organic products which is great material for another blog post. As a magicians can be a bit reluctant to reveal their secrets, so are winemakers and Jim isn't any different. What he will say though, in regards to organic winemaking, "making wine organically is not about what you do, it's what you don't do. Also, it is in Jim's belief as well as many others oenophiles, making wines that are unfiltered and unfined does not mean they are better or more natural.  I've taken the liberty to list here some of the different animal-derived fining agents:
*It should also be noted that none of the fining agents used remain in the finished product so one cannot expect to their wine develop e-coli.  

• Egg Whites - Used to ease the tannin levels in red wine
• Dried Ox Blood (blood albumen)
• Milk Casein - A protein component of milk        
• Isinglass (derived from Phish bladders)
• Bulls Blood (Banned in most countries due concerns over Mad Cow Disease) 
• Gelatin
• Chitosan (pronounced with a K sound, a "structural element in the exoskeletons of crustaceans" 

That's all I found in my research, I'm sure I forgot something but next week stay tuned for the next blog post on the use of "vegan approved" fining agents.

-Pecos