Blossom Hill is the most popular brand of wine in Great Britain, with over four million people enjoying a glass of Blossom Hill in 2019. You’ll find Blossom Hill wine in almost every supermarket, off license and pub that you enter in the UK.
But is Blossom Hill wine vegan-friendly? Well, there are some contradictory statements online about whether Blossom Hill is vegan or not. So, to set the record straight, I emailed Blossom Hill to ask for clarification.
Is Blossom Hill wine vegan?
Blossom Hill wines are not suitable for vegans as dairy products may have been used in the production of the wine. A milk protein called casein is sometimes added to the wine to clarify it. Although the casein is filtered out, most vegans will wish to avoid wines that have been processed using dairy products.
This was the email that I received from the Blossom Hill customer relations team…
“Unfortunately, we are unable to state that our wines are suitable for vegans at the moment as dairy products may have been used as processing fining aids during the making of the wine. However, during the filtration process and due to the small quantity that may be used for fining, all traces are removed and therefore below the limit of detection.
However, we are working on this and will be in touch once our products have been certified as vegan.”
Beth
Blossom Hill
Are any Blossom Hill wines vegan-friendly?
In 2021, no Blossom Hill wines can be said to be vegan-friendly. That includes red wines like Blossom Hill Soft & Fruity, rose wines like Blossom Hill White Zinfandel and white wines like Blossom Hill Crisp & Fruity.
The representative from Blossom Hill did mention that they’re working on certifying their wines as vegan, so hopefully we will be able to enjoy Blossom Hill vegan wines soon.
Why do people think that Blossom Hill wines are vegan?
When it comes to vegan drinks, one of the most trusted resources online is Barnivore.com. Barnivore is a vegan beer, wine and liquor guide. Their team email drinks manufacturers to ask if their drinks are suitable for vegans and they post the replies on the website.
As you can imagine, this is a huge task! As a result, some of the information on Barnivore can become out of date as manufacturers change their production methods.
The Barnivore website states that Blossom Hill has some vegan options. However, at the time of writing this article, Barnivore’s information about Blossom Hill hasn’t been updated for several years. The Blossom Hill wines that are vegan-friendly according to Barnivore are specific batches from 2007.
Why is wine not vegan?
Sadly, most wines are not vegan. And shockingly, some wines are not suitable for vegetarians either.
The reason why some wines aren’t vegan is down to a process called ‘fining’. When wine is young it’s a little cloudy, but people prefer wine to be clear and bright. If left long enough, wine will become clear over time. But, to speed this process up, commercially produced wine undergoes a clarification process that uses aids called ‘fining agents’.
Fining agents act as a magnet, sticking to the proteins, tannins, phenolic and tartrates that make the wine cloudy. They then sink to the bottom and are filtered out, leaving clear-looking wine.
Commonly used fining agents in wine are:
- Casein – Milk protein
- Albumin – Egg whites
- Gelatin – Animal bones, skin, tendons and ligaments
- Isinglass – Fish bladders
How is vegan wine made?
Vegan wines often use fining agents that are made of clay or charcoal, rather than animal parts. Some vegan wines aren’t filtered at all, they’re simply left for long enough that they self-stabilise.
How to know if wine is vegan?
While a few wines are labelled as vegan, most are not. The only way to know for sure if a particular wine, like Blossom Hill, is vegan or not is to email the manufacturer to ask.
When shopping for vegan wine, it’s good to plan ahead so that you know what you’re looking for. Alternatively, you may wish to order vegan wines online, so that you can be sure that the wine you’re getting is vegan.
Where to buy vegan wine
One of the best places to buy vegan wine is Laithwaites because they stock over 150 vegan wines. The Laithwaites website makes it easy to see which are the top rated vegan wines and there are hundreds of reviews from people who have tried them.
If you’d like to become more knowledgeable about wine, Laithwaites have wine advisors who will offer free advice to help you choose the best vegan wines and find the best deals.
To conclude
Unfortunately, Blossom Hill wine cannot be said to be vegan-friendly in 2021. But fear not, there are lots of cheap and cruelty-free wines to choose from instead of Blossom Hill.
Rather than picking up every bottle in the shop, trying to figure out which wines are vegan, I recommend that you take a look at Laithwaites.co.uk where you’ll have lots of vegan red, white and rose wines to choose from, as well as vegan prosecco, beer and cider.