Vegan wines

Thanks to the ever-rising popularity of vegan food, industry professionals are discovering new flavours.

An increasingly innovative range of plant-based protein products, snacks and ingredients have been appearing on store shelves and in store freezers in recent years. Härkis (fava bean mince), pulled oats and veggie pocket pies have already become everyday concepts.

Selma Wennonen, a product and service trainer at Alko, says that more and more people are asking for beverage recommendations for vegan food. However, there has already been regular demand for a number of years.

“We also have customers who are interested in vegan beverages whose production does not involve any products derived from animals,” says Wennonen.

What is vegan wine?

The difference between vegan wine and regular wine is that no animal-derived ingredients are used in the production of vegan wine. Non-vegan wines may have been clarified with gelatin, egg, casein or isinglass.

There are currently no internationally monitored standards or certificates for vegan products, and so the products in Alko’s vegan selection are labelled in accordance with the producer’s own declaration. 

Some producers use a vegan marking on their wine bottles. “Use of the European Vegetarian Union’s V-Label certificate is already quite widespread, and the Vegan Society’s flower logo is also becoming quite common,” says service advisor Raisa Kivelä from Alko’s store in Kokkola.

Growing interest in vegan wines

Consumers’ interest in vegan wines seems to be increasing.

“Customers are clearly interested in vegan products and, even here in Kokkola, more people are citing ‘vegan’ as a criterion when seeking a suitable beverage. It seems as if veganism isn’t just a prerogative of big cities – it interests people in smaller towns as well,” adds Kivelä.

How to identify Alko’s vegan beverages

Alko’s vegan wines and beverages are labelled on the basis of the producer’s own declaration. You can identify vegan beverages by the vegan symbol.