ALISTAIR GIBSON: Fabulous on-trend vegan wines from around the world

This month has seen the raising in the public consciousness of Veganuary. 

According to the Vegan Society there are now at least 542,000 people following a vegan diet in the UK, as opposed to 150,000 10 years ago.

So there is no doubt veganism is very much a growing trend.

To qualify as vegan, the wines must not have been fined, filtered or have been in contact with anything derived from an animal or dairy source.

Many wines are fined with egg whites or gelatin and often there is no indication of this on the label.

It seems that vegan wines may well be one of the wine trends of 2018 and recently the Co-op has announced plans to increase its vegan range to 100 wines, Majestic last year added vegan and vegetarian symbols to wines on its website and Waitrose has for some time added vegan and vegetarian symbols to its listed wines.

Here are a few vegan friendly wines to taste this month.

The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Broglia Gavi 2016, Piedmont (Co-op £7.99) is a very approachable, easy drinking white wine.

Made from cortese, an indigenous Italian white grape variety, this has notes of pear, white stone and citrus fruits on the nose, followed by a fresh, silky plate with a crisp, dry finish.

This is great value and a very nice alternative to chablis. Maybe match this with a Thai vegetable curry dish.

I learnt the other day most of the wines produced by Australia's oldest family-owned winery Yalumba, are vegan friendly.

Yalumba is one of Australia's finest wine producers, so this is another indication that vegan friendly wines are very much part of today's wine scene.

Yalumba Organic Viognier 2016, South Australia (Waitrose, Ocado £9.99) has appeared in this column before but there is good reason for that.

It is very food-versatile and also one of the best example of viognier under £10.

Viognier is very aromatic, and this is no exception. With a bouquet of peach and apricot and a little spice, the palate is medium bodied and quite textured with an almost exotic finish.

Try with a Moroccan-inspired couscous dish.

The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Malbec, Bio Bio Valley 2015 (Co-op £6.99) is from Chile, as opposed to Argentina, which is perhaps more associated with this very fashionable red grape.

It's been aged in French oak and it has plenty of dark, ripe fruit on the nose as well as some chocolate, floral and spice notes.

The palate is very pure with ripe tannins and rich, fruit packed finish.

This is another great value wine from the Co-op and perfect for a mid-week supper, very food friendly, try this with a tomato based pasta dish.

Alistair Gibson is proprietor of Hermitage Cellars, Emsworth. Call (01243) 431002 or e-mail

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