Not All Wines are Vegan Says The Eggs In The Wine

Egg whites can be used in fining wines.

We love eggs. One of our new favorite brunch recipes is Baked Eggs, which pair beautifully with a fruity white. But, eggs in wine? We’re not so sure about. When we first heard wines were sometimes produced with eggs, our reaction was, “Yech.” Clearly, we weren’t tuned into how eggs help make great wine. As international wine writer Jancis Robinson notes in her comprehensive The Oxford Companion to Wine (4th edition), “Egg whites play a surprisingly important part in the production of fine red wines.”

What is the role of eggs in wine?

We did some research and discovered that egg whites have high levels of albumin, a protein that can gently neutralize rowdy tannins. Therefore, they can be employed in the fining (defined as the process of clarifying beer or wine) to tame down big reds for a softer, more approachable wine.

Egg whites are also a clarifying agent for wine. Left on its own, wine would gradually clear over time, however, after winemakers patiently age their reds in the barrels for months or years, they’re more than ready to get them to market. So sometimes they fine the wines. And egg whites are a better alternative than clarifiers of old, like bull or ox blood (now illegal in the U.S.), isinglass (from fish bladders) and clay.

To get started, someone must start cracking eggs and separating yolks from whites. Even if the eggs are from a hefty hen, it will take at least three to fine a standard 225-liter barrel. So, cellar workers are called upon to make sure there are no bits of egg shells left in those egg whites, and incidentally, find something to do with all those egg yolks!

Enterprising cellar rats could start a business baking yellow cakes, whipping up thick protein smoothies, jarring homemade Hollandaise sauce or inventing egg yolk-based face moisturizers. They could pitch their ideas to the tasting room staff and empower the winery’s sustainability model with their egg yolk enterprises. Just a thought.

The Process of Egg Fining

So back to egg fining. How exactly is it done? The winemaker takes 3 to 8 egg whites, depending on their size, mixes them with about a pint of water and a pinch of salt (for a standard wine barrel). The mixture is stirred into the barrel for 30 to 60 seconds. The barrel is then topped off with wine and closed.

Barrels waiting for fining.

How long to keep the fined wine waiting? Some winemakers say one week; some say seven. If kept with the egg whites too long, the wine can be stripped of complexity, so this is yet another judgement call in the world of winemaking.

At the winemaker’s chosen time, the cloudy stuff is drained off (VERY carefully) into another barrel. Sometimes, winemakers watch the pour with candlelight to make sure no solids are reaching the new, clear barrel of wine.

There you have it, the role of eggs in wine.

Since 1990, it’s been our wine club’s mission to help artisan wineries share their small-batch wines with wine enthusiasts everywhere. At The California Wine Club we happen to think these wines simply taste better than the mass-produced wines that dominate store shelves.

We visit the wineries, meet the families and winemakers behind the wines and then invite them to share their favorite wines with our wine club members. Every wine featured in our wine of the month club comes from a real-working winery.

Come join our adventure!