Best vegan wines

Most winemakers use substances called fining agents during production, but not all of these are suitable for vegans. To help you find a vegan wine worth a place at your table, we've rounded up the best vegan wines available from our taste tests below.  

Whether you're in the mood for a rich red or a delicious champagne, our expert taste tests will help you pick the perfect option for your budget.

These results are from Christmas 2020, but we'll be updating this page soon with our 2021 results. Prices and availability last checked in August 2021.

Why is wine not vegan?

Wines appear cloudy following fermentation because the proteins in them clump together. These are natural ingredients and not harmful, but brands prefer to sell a clear, pure wine. To deal with the haze, manufacturers use fining agents to help the proteins clump together and sink to the bottom of the wine, making the sediment easier to remove.

Some commonly used fining agents contain animal products, which means certain wines are a no-go for vegans. During the fining process, egg albumen (derived from egg whites) is sometimes used for red wine, while milk protein is used for white wine. Other animal-derived fining agents include bone marrow and fish oil.

If you're shopping for a vegan wine, you'll be looking out for a drink that's produced using animal-friendly fining agents. Below, we've rounded up some suitable red wines and champagnes.

Discover which wine goes best with different foods.

The best vegan red wine

Only logged-in Which? members can view the results below. If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the vegan red wine on test. To get instant access, join Which? now.

Aldi Princes de France Gigondas 2018

£14.99 for a 75cl bottle

This vegan red wine from the southern Rhone Valley promises plenty of warmth and spice, with flavours of black fruits and pepper.

Is it one of our top-scoring vegan wines? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results.

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Aldi.

Asda Extra Special Valpolicella Ripasso 2017

£9 for a 75cl bottle

Asda says this Italian wine takes it's name from the 'ripasso' technique, which involves adding the skins of semi-dried grapes to the blend, resulting in a deeper, richer and more full-bodied wine.

Did it impress our expert tasting panel? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results.

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Asda.

M&S Classics Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

£8 for a 75cl bottle

This Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley is one of the cheapest vegan red wines we tested. 

Does it offer good value for money? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results.

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from M&S.

More vegan red wines on test

• Morrisons The Best Toscana 2018 (£10 for a 75cl bottle), available from Morrisons
• Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Cotes De Ventoux 2018 (£10 for a 75cl bottle), available from Sainsbury's
• Spar Primitivo Puglia 2019 (£6.75 for a 75cl bottle), available from Spar
• Waitrose No.1 Cederberg Syrah 2018 (£10.99 for a 75cl bottle), available from Waitrose

To see our full selection of red wines on test, head over to our best red wine guide.

The best vegan champagne

Only logged-in Which? members can view the results below. If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the vegan champagne on test.

To get instant access, join Which? now.

Aldi Philizot et Fils Organic Champagne

£26.99 for a 75cl bottle

This organic, vegan-friendly champagne, made with pinot noir grapes, is described by Aldi as 'light and elegant'.

Did it win over our expert panel? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Aldi.

Co-op Les Pionniers Brut Champagne  

£19 for a 75cl bottle

One of the cheapest vegan champagnes we tested, this bottle of bubbly costs less than £20 per bottle.

Does a cheap price mean compromising on taste? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results. 

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Co-op.

Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne

£38 for a 75cl bottle

This premium brand is By Appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Purveyors of Champagne.

Is it worth splashing out on? Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results.

Want to buy without reading our results? Available from Asda, Morrrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

More vegan champagne on test

• Morrisons The Best Brut Premier Cru Champagne  (£19 for a 75cl bottle), available from Morrisons
• Sainsbury's Landric Brut Champagne (£25 for a 75cl bottle), available from Sainsbury's
• Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne (£21 for a 75cl bottle), available from Sainsbury's
• Waitrose Blanc de Noirs Champagne (£24 for a 75cl bottle), available from Waitrose
• Waitrose Brut Champagne (£20 for a 75cl bottle), available from Waitrose

See our full selection of the best champagne on test.

How to recycle wine bottles

Glass bottles can usually go in your household recycling bin. If your council doesn’t accept them, you can take them to a local bottle bank. Make sure to empty out all the liquid, give the bottle a quick rinse and put the lid back on to reduce the chance of it getting lost during the sorting process. 

Natural corks can’t go in your recycling bin, but they can be composted. You can also recycle corks through Recorked UK – either by posting them or dropping them off at your nearest collection point.

Synthetic corks, which are made of plastic, can’t be recycled or composted. They should be disposed of in your general waste bin.

How we tested vegan wine

Our experts tasted 18 champagnes and 10 red wines (not all of them were vegan-friendly so here we've only included the vegan ones) in September 2020. 

We disguised all the bottles before serving so that they didn’t know which brand they were tasting. Each expert assessed the drinks in a different order. At the end of the tasting, they discussed their ratings and agreed on a score for each bottle.

Our experts were: 

• Charles Metcalfe Wine taster and co-chair of the International Wine Challenge (IWC)
• Oz Clarke Wine writer, television presenter and broadcaster
• Kathryn McWhirter Wine taster, author and translator
• Peter McCombie Master of Wine, speaker, consultant, co-chairman of the IWC
• Sam Caporn Master of wine, wine consultant, speaker, writer and IWC judge