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Vegetarian Journal Excerpts January/February 1997 Volume XVI, Number 1
Why is Wine so fined?
By Caroline Pyevich

Although wine usually contains only grapes, yeast, and a small amount of sulfites, which are added and created during fermentation, the processing of wine introduces small amounts of substances which may be of concern to vegetarians and vegans. Every wine is different and no uniform formula exists for producing wine. The taste of a wine is a reflection of where its grapes were grown. The soil gives the wine its flavor, which is why wines produced in certain areas have a distinctive flavor. Winemakers may choose not to extensively process their wine in order to retain some of these natural qualities.

A clarifying or fining agent makes wine clear by removing proteins from the wine. The agents eventually settle out of the wine. Different proteins serve as clarifying agents depending upon both the type of wine and the desired flavor. Lab trials determine both the clarifying agent and quantities used. The fining agents have an opposite polarity to that of the wine. Therefore, the agents solidify with the protein and they remain in the wine, although they can be removed.

Some clarifiers are animal-based products, while others are earth-based. Common animal-based agents include egg whites, milk, casein, gelatin, and isinglass. Gelatin is an animal protein derived from the skin and connective tissue of pigs and cows. Isinglass is prepared from the bladder of the sturgeon fish. Bentonite, a clay earth product, serves as a popular fining agent.

Organic agents are more likely to be used in the clarification of premium wines. Premium wines are typically those which cost more than $7 a bottle and are produced from grapes grown in desirable locations. According to Bouchaine Vineyard, twenty-five percent of the premium wines produced in the United States is clarified with an organic protein.

Egg whites from chicken eggs are used for red wine clarification and are removed before the wine is bottled. The egg whites are not specially processed or separately distributed for the wine industry. They are regular, store-bought eggs or farm eggs. Two or three egg whites can clarify a 55-gallon barrel of wine. Winemakers in France (Burgundy) commonly utilize egg whites in their production because they can use the whites of the eggs after the yolks have already been added to their foods. Egg whites generally clarify more expensive wines (above $15 a bottle) or French wines which are expected to age. Large producers of wine in the United States do not usually use egg whites as a fining agent, and they may implement potassium caseinate as a substitute for eggs.

Whole milk and casein are two other possible fining agents in some red wines. Gelatin can clarify either white or red wine. Gelatin pulls suspended material out of wine, and less expensive wines may use this material. One ounce of gelatin can clarify 1,000 gallons of wine. Gelatin serves as a finishing agent in some wine and beer. A finishing agent adds a "final touch" to the quality and clarity of the wine without making any radical change in its flavor
(Full article:Why is Wine so fined?)

More in the Whisky Room on definitions of finings, is it vegan wine in your glass?

The Irish believe that fairies are extremely fond of good wine. The proof of the assertion is that in the olden days royalty would leave a keg of wine out for them at night. Sure enough, it was always gone in the morning.

Quickly bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may whet my mind and say something clever. - Aristophanes