A few years ago, my favorite local vegan restaurant held an anniversary dinner for their regular customers in appreciation for their loyalty. In addition to the generous free dinner they served us, they also held a raffle, where they gave away gift certificates for meals and bottles of wine. Dennis won a gift certificate and I won a bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. I wasn’t familiar with Santa Margherita before that, but I loved the wine, and since then, their Pino Grigio has been our go-to for special occasions.
Vegan-friendly wine can sometimes to be to come by, and often wineries aren’t even sure what would make their wine vegan. I once had a wine sales person repeatedly tell me that no wines are vegan, and I had to repeatedly explain to her that there are vegan wines, just not the brand she was representing. So, I appreciate that Santa Margherita wines are vegan, and that they state this face on their website.
When I refer to a wine being vegan-friendly, I often get questions and quizzical looks, because, after all, wine is a liquid made from grapes. Yes, grapes are vegan, but it’s the filtration process that can put wine on a vegan’s don’t-drink-that list. Many winemaking practices incorporate animal byproducts such as gelatin, milk, eggs, fish protein as their fining agents during the filtration process. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want those things seeping into my vino.
Santa Margherita wineries stopped nusing animal byproducts years ago, and they now use only vegan-friendly bentonite clay, yeast-derived and vegetable-derived products during filtration. They also make sure they maintain vegan standards through the entire production process by only working with vegan suppliers. Santa Margherita also takes an eco-friendly approach to winemaking and they follow sustainable farming techniques. They only use energy derived from 100% renewable sources, as well. This is my kind of company!
Santa Margherita recently sent me a bottle of their Chianti Classico Riserva to try. This intense ruby red wine is characterized by vigorous tannins and fresh acidity, followed by an aroma of fruits and sweet spices with a hint of herbs. It paired well with homemade vegan cheese (although I was tempted to cook up some fava beans). While it is a dry wine, I didn’t find it to be too dry for my tastes. I already know that their Pinot Grigio is excellent, so I’m now looking forward to trying Santa Margherita’s Prosecco Superiore and Sparkling Rosé as well.
Vegan-friendly wine from Santa Margherita is perfect for toasting the holidays. Raise a glass and say cheers to vegan wine!
