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You are here: Home / Wine Pairings / Italy’s First Certified Vegan Winery

Italy’s First Certified Vegan Winery

Published: Sep 3, 2020 · Updated: Oct 31, 2020 · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Italian vegan white wine and glass with red roses

The Sangiovanni winery in Italy has the unique distinction of being the country’s first certified vegan winery. The question is, does it really matter?

Passerina white wine bottle and glass with red roses

An agrobiological company

The Sangiovanni winery describes itself as an agrobiological company. Founded in 1990 by the Di Lorenzo family, one of the most noble families in the Le Marche province, they obtained organic certification in 2000.

In 2012, the farm was bought by shareholders and relaunched as a new company. They sell mainly to foreign markets with China being the largest, followed by Japan, and other European countries.

landscape photos of Piceno, Italy
The town of Piceno is surrounded on three sides by mountains and nestled between the Tronto River and the smaller river Castellano.

Situated in the hills of Piceno, the company farms 30 hectares of vineyards at an average altitude of 320 meters above sea level. They grow typical grape varietals of the region including Passerina, Pecorino, Trebbiano, Montepulciano and Sangiovese.

map of Italian wine regions with Le Marche circled in black
The Sangiovanni agribiological company is located in the Le Marche region of Italy. They grow typical grape varietals of the region including Passerina, Pecorino, Trebbiano, Montepulciano and Sangiovese

Vegan down to the glue on the label

In 2014, they became the first winery in Italy to obtain vegan certification.

As CEO, Katia Stracci states, when they discovered they were vegan, it was a bit of a surprise. “We never used animal products during the winemaking process like egg whites, isinglass. We always used bentonite, derived from vegetables to clarify the wines.”

She goes on to mention that “To be certified vegan, the winery should use organic fertilization in the vineyards, substances derived from vegetables in the cellar, and vegan glue as well.”

🍇 Word on the grapevine is that the Sangiovanni CEO is a 30 something year old woman that speaks 7 languages. 🍇

Pair Pecorino with Pecorino

Sangiovanni pecorino vegan wine bottle and glass of wine with cherry tomatoes
The 2018 Sangiovanni Pecorino is wrapped with a DOCG label that guarantees the geographic authenticity of the wine and its quality.

Their 2018 Pecorino ($18), is full bodied with salty, mineral sea breeze and lemon acidity.

It is most definitely a food wine and as Ms. Stracci says, the typical pairing in the region is actually Pecorino wine with Pecorino cheese.

“There’s something about the salty, nutty-tart cheese and bracing acidity and fleshy stone fruit of the wine that make them a genuinely great pair. “

Katia Scracci, CEO of Sangiovani

She goes on to offer additional pairing suggestion. “Pecorino wines also go beautifully with shellfish, and those dry soft, herbal notes found in some bottles make them a natural match for complex, wintry flavors.”

plate of tomato pasta with white wine in the background
The Pecorino is paired here with with a fresh, no cook, summer tomato sauce pasta topped with Pecorino cheese.

Pair Passerina with Seafood

Meanwhile their 2018 Passerina ($14) is light, fresh, and delicate with notable structure and a long finish. The grapes are soft pressed and aged in stainless steel for just 10 days.

Per the tech sheet, Passerina wine is actually the rediscovery of a very ancient Picena grape.

What I find distinctive about it is its straw golden color yet lifted, acid flavor.

The winery suggested pairing this wine with:

  • Paccheri (large tube pasta) stuffed with swordfish, pinenuts and raisins
  • Tagliolini (like tagliatelle pasta but cylindrical instead of flat) with squid
  • Marinara risotto
  • Pasta carbonara
italian vegan white wine with portabella pizza
Passerina would normally be paired with seafood. Pictured here with portabella mushrooms because that is what I had on hand!

Isn’t wine mostly vegan anyway?

While it may seem free of animal products, wine may be refined with the help of animal products such as:

  • Egg whites
  • Casein – a milk protein
  • Gelatin – derived from animal hide and bones
  • Isinglass – derived from fish bladders
  • Chitosan – derived from crustacean shells

Meanwhile, there are non-animal products that could be used to make wine such as plastic substances and purified clay.

However, this problem is not unique to wine.

Conventional sugar is refined through bone char, and sugar is in countless consumer products.

Not to mention that all vegetables and fruits are commonly grown with the help of animal manure. Even if plant based compost is used, one could argue that the worms have aided the health of the soil and thereby helped the fruit to grow.

100% recyclable cork
The Sangiovanni wine bottles were sealed with 100% recyclable corks, with zero carbon footprint impact.

Vegan Qualitana certification

SanGiovanni winery uses the Vegan Qualitana label that offers certifications in the US, Italy, China, and South Korea.

vegan certification on a wine label

I reached out to the Vegan Qualitana for specific qualifications but did not receive any more details than:

  1. The product is inspected onsite by a professional inspector
  2. They check ingredients at all phases of manufacturing, clarification, and filtration.
    At any stage, no animal ingredients origin are allowed

No mention was made of examining agricultural practices. Perhaps that is in the purview of an organic label.

Marketing hogwash?

As I learned more about the vegan certification, I started to wonder if this was just all marketing hogwash: a ploy to lure unassuming, animal loving consumers, and most of all make money.

But does this marketing actually work?

Yes!

I only bought these wines because they had a distinctive vegan certification that made my tastebuds immediately sit up and listen up.

Familiar and affordable

When faced with a shelf full of Italian wines many do not understand with all their unusual grape varietals and unfamiliar, hard to pronounce winery names, the vegan label is at once recognizable, reliable, and unique.

The vegan certification could be the deciding factor between this or that wine bottle consumer has never tasted.

It also demonstrates the winery’s commitment to a cause beyond themselves and attention to small details that many other businesses may overlook.

In addition, these wines were very reasonably priced, proving that sustainable, ethical wines can be budget friendly too.

Featured wines were purchased from Table Wine Merchant in Pacifica, CA. As a result of shelter in place restrictions, they now have a very robust online store to order from.

Vegan Pecorina white wine with plate of spaghetti

Questions for Discussion

  1. Are vegan certifications necessary? Or are these tailored to a very acute portion of the wine drinking population?
  2. Would using a cowhorn in biodynamic winemaking disqualify a wine from being vegan?
  3. Have you had a Passerina or Pecorino wine? Please share your impressions.

Learn more about sustainable Italian wines

Check out these posts from the Italian Food Wine Travel writers to read more about Italian wineries making efforts towards sustainable practices.

Final HTML for Sustainability to Better Tackle the Climate Change Italian FWT September 2020

  • Camilla from Siciliy in Pasta alla Norma + Tasca d’Almerita Lamuri Nero d’Avola Sicilia 2016
  • Terri from Fico: A Wine that Supports Sustainability in Italy
  • Linda from Alto Adige with Alois Lageder – Driven to create wines in harmony with nature
  • Gwendolyn from Interview: Antonella Manuli’s and Lorenzo Corino’s patented method + wines, lasagna, and dogs #ItalianFWT
  • Lynn from Ricci Curbastro Estate In Franciacorta Tackles the Sustainability Question
  • Robin from Climate Change, Finding Sustainable Italian Wines and Why you should Care #ItalianFWT
  • Susannah from Sicily with Tasca d’Amerita, A Longstanding Focus on Sustainability
  • Nicole from A Sustainable Sampler Pack with Umani Ronchi
  • Jennifer from VIVA Sustainability at the Forefront with Michele Chiarlo
  • Katarina at Grapevine Adventures talks about Torre Bisenzio where Authenticity And Quality Is All About Sustainability

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jen Martin

    September 4, 2020 at 5:03 am

    I had to write an article for someone about vegan wines. I learned a lot. You would think all wines are vegan. I like the idea of seafood with these wines.

    Reply
  2. Lynn

    September 6, 2020 at 7:41 am

    Very interesting article and questions you pose Deanna. I’m not for or against vegan but it does seem that “Adding a vegan label to wine seems to be an attempt to appease a small portion of the wine drinking population that is also vegan.” #2- does seem that could be contradictory. I love both Pecorino and Passerina!

    Reply
  3. Nicole Ruiz Hudson

    September 6, 2020 at 10:30 am

    On the one hand, I do think the certification is there to help guide a small portion of the wine-drinking population, but it might be important to some those people and the certification can help them find what they’re looking for — help simplify decisions as you pointed out. How the wines taste is key to me, and these seem to pass muster!

    Reply
  4. robincgc

    September 6, 2020 at 2:16 pm

    This brings up so many interesting questions. As I know people who are vegan, I do appreciate the certification on a label, so that they can be reassured. With alternatives to fining agents it would seem likely that more and more wines would be vegan, and like Sangiovanni, just not be aware.
    The question of biodynamics and cow horns is an interesting one.

    Reply
  5. Linda Whipple, CSW

    September 6, 2020 at 3:17 pm

    Good questions you raise, Deanna. For those committed to eating vegan, seems like the certification would be helpful. Wondering how the wine would pair with tofu, substitute cheese, and other vegan dishes.

    Reply

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