We recently heard about an event in Boston that left us wondering. UpStairs on the Square, a popular restaurant in Cambridge, is hosting a dinner with vegan wine pairings. What is vegan wine? Being made from grapes, wine seems like it would be an acceptable choice for those who had sworn off animal products.
Well, according to animal-rights activism group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), during the filtration process of regular wines, isinglass (a pure form of gelatin derived from fish bladders) and egg whites are occasionally used as finings to remove sediment or impurities. Vegan wine, however, uses inert clay powder bentonite or the mineral kaolin instead. Currently there are roughly 20 certified brands of vegan wine, with the easy-to-find Yellowtail brand being one of them.