Chateau des Charmes is NOT vegan friendly

Address: 1025 York Road
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Canada
Phone: 905.262.4219
Fax: 905.262.5548
Email:
URL: www.chateaudescharmes.com
Checked by: Steph H.
Double checked by: Michele, Elisabeth, Cath
Added: over 16 years ago
Double Checked: over 8 years ago

Products by Chateau des Charmes:

Company email (June 2015):
"The statement on Barnivore is correct. We have some wines that are vegan friendly but we have not sought any formal designation. Many of the 2012 reds mentioned below are sold out. I thought it be wise to not mislead you and provide you with a wine that may not be thoroughly vetted and fall short of your standards. I do know some vegans who enjoy our wines regularly while other choose not to. We respect everyone's right to choose."

Company email (April 2015):
"We do get this question several times a year. Our usual fining agent is bentonite, an clay-based substance. Occasionally we will use albumin (egg) and rarely casein to assist in the fining process. This could occur on a tank-by-tank basis in vintages when our red wines have more tannins than we would like.

I can confirm that all of our white wines are vegan friendly. In 2012 the tannins in our red wines were soft so we didn't need to move beyond bentonite. Our 2012 reds are on the shelf now or are about to hit the shelf and I can honestly say they are among the best we have ever produced."

Company email, February 2012:
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The production team tells me that the current vintages that are available for sale may have had albumin used at one point in the fining process in a tank or two. So the original statement on your website is correct and should be the one that is available to your members.

Company email, February 2012:
"Please revert to our 'older' comment about the rare use of albumin. It is correct." [Note: we've asked for more information]

From the company (July 2011):
"I came across your notation of our winery as NOT vegan friendly. We have not used albumin as a fining agent for many years. If we fine at all we use bentonite. Therefore we are vegan friendly."

Company email (older):
"At Chateau des Charmes our fining agent of choice is bentonite, an inert clay. On rare occasions we will need to supplement the bentonite with albumin (egg white). But this is the winemaking team's decision and is on a tank-by-tank basis."