Raise your glass and your pinky to vegan wine

We use vegetable broth in our soups and soy milk in our coffee, but I never knew I had to check the label on the wine bottle before I pour it into my wineglass, too. I thought wine was made by Lucille Ball dancing on grapes in a big barrel on black and white TV, but it seems as though I have overlooked a few steps of the process. Wine is more than fermented grapes. It is actually filtered through animal products when it is clarified and cleared after fermentation.

Although wine usually contains only grapes, yeast, and a small amount of sulphites, which are added and created during fermentation, the processing of wine uses substances that are often not vegan.

Several animal products might be used in the making of wine during the clarifying or 'fining' process. Fining is when the spent yeasts (which turns the sugar to alcohol) and any miniscule bits of leaves or stems are removed, leaving a clear liquid. A fining agent binds to the debris and settles on the bottom of the wine tank or barrel, from where they are removed. The ingredient list will not state the clarifier because it is removed from the final product.

Wine is clarified after fermentation using animal-based and earth-based products. Animal-based products include egg whites, milk, gelatin made from bones, isinglass made from fish bladders, caseinate milk proteins, and dried blood. Bentonite is an earth-based clay earth product.

So what does this mean for us vegans? Organic protein agents are more likely to be used in the clarification of premium wines which cost more than $7 a bottle. Egg whites are commonly used for red wine clarification in more expensive wines, above $15 a bottle, or French wines expected to age. In the United States, large producers use potassium caseinate instead of eggs as fining agents in some red wines. Gelatin can clarify either white or red wine, or beer and less expensive wines may use this method. Isinglass is used to fine selected white wines specifically in Germany. Some American wineries also use isinglass to clarify white wine or chardonnay. Bull's blood is also used in some Mediterranean countries but is not allowed in the U.S. or France. And all Kosher wines are not vegan—they may be more likely to avoid the use of the animal-based clarifying agents, but not all do so.

The good news is the most popular substance used to remove the proteins of domestically produced white wines is bentonite, the silica clay and it is used to fine most inexpensive wines.

Because labels need not declare these animal product used, I recommend asking the wine connoisseur at your nearest wine shop for guidance as you look over isles and make your wine selections for tonight's dinner. Or look through the huge list of vegan wines, link below.

And when all else fails, grab a bottle of monet, as I can assure you its drinkable for all.

Sources of information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/vegetarian_and_vegan/drinks.shtml
http://www.veganconnection.com/notvegan.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_wine

HUGE LIST OF VEGAN WINES
http://vegans.frommars.org/wine/

My little sister asked me today why I was vegan...

My little sister asked me today why I was a vegan. Although she has sat through countless meals of my vegan rants and raves, she was unable to parrot back to me why I believe the world should be vegan.

I asked her why she thought I was vegan and she had a grasp on the concept that we could be directly eating the food that the animals we slaughter eat, thereby cutting out the "middle man" and saving resources. But she could not recall the gut reason of why I am a vegan--

By eating meat, you perpetuate world hunger.

This is how I explained it to my 11-year-old little sis:
It takes an acre of land to raise a cow for slaughter, and once it is slaughtered and prepared, a cow can feed 10 people. But if the farmer were to farm the land with agriculture instead of grass and cow feed, crops grown on an acre could feed 100 people. So by raising agriculture instead of animals, we could feed 10x the amount of hungry people. I would gladly give up hamburgers in order to feed 90 starving children. It's like a lie of omission: knowing the truth and not speaking it is still deceitful. Knowing you can feed more people with a vegetarian lifestyle and still eating meat, is just like stopping those other 90 people from eating.

Now my math above may not be perfect, but my motives are pure, and my computations are close enough. My ideology and my heart are in the right place. And I hope each of my vegan rants and raves opens another person's mind.

So this is what I taught my sister to say: Eating veggies feed more people than eating meat. And with so many starving people in the world, why would I not want to do my part toward helping our world live. It's as simple and as complicated as that.

Out on the town

Hungry? As a vegan, sometimes it feels like there is nothing to eat in Boston. I'm fine at home where I can cook meals to order exactly how I like them, but its awkward when you are out and try to convince the Chinese line cook to make some fried rice without the egg.

But have no fear--your stomach grumbling stops here. I have a huge list of vegan-friendly restaurants in Boston that will serve you something edible.

I have not been to all of these restaurants, but the list is a compliment of VegGuide.org. I encourage you to try them all out, and let me know which are the best.

My all-time favorite vegetarian and vegan restaurant is Veggie Planet in Harvard Square. Living in the South End of Boston, it takes a lot to get me across the river and over the bridge to Cambridge, but the food and ambiance at this place is well-worth the trip. It's a little whole-in-the-wall restaurant and music joint that offers pizzas and rice bowls with all sorts of toppings. It was the first place I ever went where I had more than one item to choose from on the menu. Great for vegetarians, vegans and seekers, and the food will even satisfy the most carnivorous, pouting little sisters.

So grab a map and your wallet, choose a restaurant off the list and be ready to be satiated!

You don't have to be rich or skinny to be vegan

Some folks believe to be vegan you have to be able to afford it. Not true. When you are buying butter anyway, why not get the vegan kind? The price is about the same. Plus, meat is the most expensive item in your basket--put it back on the shelf and you can add 2x its weight in beans, rice and tofu.

Some folks believe to be vegan you have to love tofu. It's okay tofu freaks you out. It freaks me out, too. It is white and squishy and made from plants. It is a little like alien food and I have yet to master cooking with it myself, but edamame is my favorite snack and the tofu dish is the one I always order when I eat out.

Some folks believe to be vegan you have to be a waify flowerpower lady. I may be a bit of a hippy (my middle name is Moonlight and I don't shave my legs,) but I am not a skinny little lady who hugs trees and sings Kumbaya. I'm an average person, with probably a lower-than-average salary, who cooks up whatever I happen to be able to find. I prefer stovetop cooking and washing dishes by hand. And after dinner, I like long romantic walks on the beach....

Vegan is not a stereotype, it is a choice and a lifestyle. It is a choice for a better lifestyle, for yourself, the animals and your world. This is our world and we should eat it up, but there are many mouths to feed and don't forget to save a bite for all the generations to come. We must all eat in such a way so that no one goes hungry.

As a vegan, don't worry about going hungry and don't be afraid of the idea of becoming a little furry friend, there is a surplus of vegan cuisine that is more than rabbit food. On any given day, you can find me eating... pasta, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, falafel, cake, sorbet, cookies, chips, soup... all of which have vegan variations and all of which are obtainable. There is soymilk and vegan cream cheese and nondairy creamer. As a vegan, I want for nothing.

Where I have felt the pinch, is at fast food restaurants, bakeries and wineries. No more milkshakes, jelly donuts or cheap bottles of red wine. My only solace is that I have replaced these items with ones that are even better for my body, and their productions are better for the world: soy protein shakes, toast with butter and jam, and Moet & Chandon. As a vegan, you are not giving up, you are trading up: something good for something better.

I cannot profess to say I have never cheated, because I have unkowingly eaten a sausage I thought was falafel and or wittingly enjoyed a packet of instant hot chocolate I wanted REALLY, REALLY badly. No one is perfect, but dedication is the key and the journey is admirable.

So, prince charming and cinderella, stop trying to put those vegan shoes on somebody else's feet--you take them for a walk. They are comfortable for your pockets, your waistline and they leave a smaller carbon footprint.