KEY POINTS:
If the historical practice of adding ox blood to wine makes many folk flinch, vegetarians in particular might be distressed to discover that though blood has been banned from wine for years, other animal products such as fish innards are still swimming their way through many a modern wine.
What stops many wines from being strictly vegetarian is the use of animal-based fining agents. Fining agents attract molecules in a wine that, if left, could make it cloudy, harsh or exhibit off flavours, and are used to assist in their removal.
So what creatures could have passed through your glass? The most likely are fish, whose swim bladders are the source of the isinglass that's widely favoured to fine away the finer imperfections of many a white wine.
Gelatin, sourced from animal bones and tissues, is another agent employed, which due to its aggressive nature is now largely confined to cleaning up the roughest stuff destined for lower-end and cask labels.
Vegans need to be even more vigilant as traditional egg white fining is employed on many red wines, as is dairy-derived casein.
Not that much of these agents actually end up in the finished wine. A recent study by the Australian Wine Research Institute suggests that the amounts of fining agents that remain are likely to be between zero and just a few parts per billion.
However, those wanting to make an ethical choice are largely left in the dark by our wineries and current wine-labelling laws. But some clues to a wine's content are provided by the fact that since 2002, all wines sold in New Zealand must declare the use of any allergen-causing ingredients and their byproducts. This covers egg, fish and milk-based fining products, but does not include gelatin.
"I'd like to see more accurate labels," says vegetarian Geoff Wright. "People do care and should be given a choice." Wright admits that he realised animal products were used in wine only when he started training as a winemaker himself.
When Wright went on to start his own label, Wrights Wines, he applied his personal philosophy to his production methods. His winery also became, back in 2001, the first in New Zealand to get its wines approved by the Vegetarian Society.
Although many wines are suitable for vegetarians, only one other winery has joined Wrights to get the veggie seal of approval.
Moana Park followed suit in 2004 after never having used animal finings, for quality reasons.
For wineries, fining is a commercial rather than quality-based decision. It can airbrush out faults from less-than-perfect fruit and get wines ready for bottling far more quickly than if they were left to clarify of their own accord. But if you've got great grapes that are handled sensitively in the vineyard and winery and don't need to rush your wines out to market, most finings are not required at all.
As well as removing the bad, fining will always remove some of the good, the reason some of the greatest wines are left unfiltered and unfined. See this on a label and you can be assured that the wine is vegetarian-friendly. Moreover, in not requiring any tidying-up through fining, it could well be an intrinsically better wine, and it'll certainly be a more honest drop.
TICK OF APPROVAL
Moana Park Vineyard Selection Dartmoor Valley Pinot Gris 2007
$16
This is the only New Zealand pinot gris that's approved by the Vegetarian Society. It's fresh and uncomplicated, with just a touch of sweetness underneath ripe pears, cloves and a hint of honeysuckle.
From fine-wine stores.
COMPLEX AND VIBRANT
Pyramid Valley Kerner Estate Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Blanc 2006
$30
Pyramid Valley's Mike Weersing states that "the good winegrower's work is to prevent the need for fining", something he avoids in his wines, such as this impressively intense pinot blanc. This grape is a relative rarity in New Zealand, and this example - with its delicate floral and mandarin notes, nutty complexity and vibrant citrus minerality - should convince our growers to plant more.
From Caro's.
SVELTE AND TANGY
TerraVin Pinot Noir 2005
$34-36
Another unfined wine made by Mike Weersing during his stint as winemaker for TerraVin, the Omaka Valley hillside vineyard established by Mike Eaton, who set up the Clayvin vineyard. It's a svelte, tangy pinot with dense black cherry fruit, hints of violet and mocha and a savoury depth.
From Caro's, Fine Wine Delivery Company.
