Kung Fu Girl 2012 Riesling is Vegan Friendly

by Charles Smith Wines
Address: 35 South Spokane Street Street
Walla Walla, Washington
USA
Phone: 509.526.5230
Fax: 509-526-5267
Email: charles@charlesmithwines.com
URL: https://charlessmithwines.com/
Checked by: Lindsay
Double checked by: Robert, Amanda, Sarah, Becky, Chrissy, Company, Chrissy, Courtney
Added: almost 10 years ago
Double Checked: over 5 years ago

Company email (December 2020) re the line represented by Wines of Substance (SIXTO, K Vintners, Vino CasaSmith, Substance, and B. Leighton)

"Although not certified as vegan (which is quite expensive), we do not use any animal byproducts in any of our wines including the Substance Cs Cabernet. We believe in native fermentation and most of our wines are un-fined and unfiltered altogether. We do not add yeast, or anything for that matter to our wines. We also only source from sustainable vineyards, and do not use any chemical sprays on our fruit. The only thing in our wines is the grapes, and the vessel they rest in. Our wines are only produced in Washington State, we do not have any out of state production facilities. So, I’m confident that all of our wines can be enjoyed by the vegetarian/ vegan community!"

Company email (December 2018) re: Velvet Devil
"Fining agents are used on a lot-by-lot basis to optimize the quality. Some fining agents contain proteinaceous materials. Proteinaceous fining agents are used to react with color and/or tannin molecules to make them removable by subsequent filtration."
[We're leaving the 2016 vintage as vegan because they've previously stated that it's vegan and this response is a blanket statement, but there's some kind of other statement here if the company can't be bothered to keep a simple list]

Company email (September 2018)
"We just received confirmation from our brand, Charles Smith Wines, that [these] 6 blends under their specific umbrella are vegan...

2017 Band of Roses Rosé
2017 Kung Fu Girl Riesling
2016 The Velvet Devil Merlot
2016 Boom Boom! Syrah
2016 Eve Chardonnay
2016 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon"

Company email (June 2018)
"Fining agents are used on a lot-by-lot basis to optimize the quality. Some fining agents contain proteinaceous materials. Proteinaceous fining agents are used to react with color and/or tannin molecules to make them removable by subsequent filtration. Both the fining agent, the color and/or tannin it reacts with are removed by the filtration process."

Company email (April 2014): re: Kung Fu Girl Riesling
"We do not intentionally produce our wines to be "vegan" and we will utilized the most state of the art production techniques as required by any given vintage. That being said, you should continue to check regarding each wine and each vintage.
Both the 2012 and 2013 Kung Fu Girl Rieslings ARE vegan - no animal products. We DO NOT manufacture in any other location ever."

Company email (August 2013): [asked specifically about all lines of wines from Charles Smith Wines: Secco Italian Bubbles, ViNO, K Vintner and Charles & Charles]
"Although we not not produce our wines specifically to be vegan-friendly (we focus rather on the most up to date technical practices available), the current vintages use only bentonite as a fining agent. Most people consider this clay as vegan friendly as it is predominently volcanic ash. However, some people may consider that as a result of a volcanic eruption and the molten lava rivers, there could potentially be bone from animals that were in the path of the molten lava...."

Company email (August 2013): [regarding Secco Italian Bubbles]
"The only fining agent used is Bentonite."

Company email: [regarding K Vintner wines]
"Thank you for your interest in our wines. Although we do not "as a practice" include any animal products in our wines, that is not to say that we absolutely would not use egg white finings if a particular wine warranted it as that is a part of our winemaking technique that just MIGHT take place. We do keep very specific and accurate records of each wine so I would be able
to tell you specifically for a particular wine if you were interested in such."

Company email (yes, all uppercase): [regarding Charles Smith wines]
"WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE THAT OUR WINES ARE VEGAN-FRIENDLY DUE TO THE MOST ADVANCED WINEMAKING TECHNIQUES THAT WE ENGAGE."

Other products by Charles Smith Wines: