To celebrate National Wine Drinking Day (aka one of our favorite “holidays”) we asked Frances Gonzalez of Vegan Wines, an all-vegan wine club, to spill her current favorite wines.
Before we dive in, it’s important to know the wine you may be drinking is not vegan. That’s right — not all wines are vegan. There are a lot of nasty ingredients lurking in wine that make it not vegan.
Fortunately, Gonzalez has spent a lot of time traveling and visiting vineyards and winemakers and curating an impressive wine list for her club that features vegan wines from the soil to the glass.
Vegan Wines’ top five picks
2018 Eraldo Dentici Grechetto IGT Esimio Cantina Rialto
This winemaker creates superb natural wines made as they once were, without adding chemicals.
Grapes: Grechetto
Wine Style: Floral white wine with distinct aromas of ripe fruits with light and sweet acacia honey notes
2016 Castello Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico Reserva
This special “Vicchiomaggio Vegan” wine from Castello Vicchiomaggio has a fantastic floral impact of violet with spicy and fruity aromas of cherry jam, orange peel, vanilla, and a hint of eucalyptus on the nose.
Grape: Sangiovese
Wine Style: Deep ruby red with purple reflexes. Hints of ripe cherry lead onto crisp berry flavors, velvety tannins carry onto a long satisfying finish on the palate.
2016 Luca Di Tomaso Montefalco Rosso
Luca Di Tomaso is a young farmer. His great dream — that of practicing sustainable agriculture and producing quality wines — has become a reality in the magnificent lands of Umbria, Italy.
Grape Varietals:Sangiovese, CabernetSauvignon and Sagrantino
Wine Style: Ruby red with brick-colored shades. The nose is expressed with hints of small red fruits – in particular cherry notes – hints of violet and spicy.
2018 Aerea Gamay
Being a Gamay, this wine invites draughts rather than sips.
Grape:100% Gamay Noir
Wine Style:Look for a bright magenta hue, blooming from the glass with notes of violets, summer plums, and candied cranberry.
2017 Proteus Illusion Pinot Noir Blanc
A mysterious dry white Pinot Noir, made with the passion that only a former opera conductor can summon.
Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
Wine Style: White – Tropical and Balanced
Photos: Vegan Wines
Diana Edelman is the founder of Vegans, Baby. She previously lived and worked in Thailand working for an elephant sanctuary and has traveled around the world speaking about the realities of elephant tourism, being a positive activist and entrepreneur at events including TBEX, SEED Food + Wine, VegFest Puerto Rico, VegFest Toronto and more. Diana is a proud partner with the James Beard Foundation and curates their Vegas Vegan Dinner series at the famous James Beard House, as well as the vegan activation, The Farm Stand, at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful festival.
