Vegan Possum

We just came back from a 3 month trip to Tasmania, where we had the chance to taste some incredible vegan wine. Australia has some of the best wines in the world, but unfortunately many vineyards choose to use animal products in the manufacturing process, making them off-limits to those on a cruelty-free diet.

Vegan Wine in Australia

If you were surprised to read that wine could be non-vegan, join the club. I was horrified to discover that some of my favourite drinks were off limits, as I added wine to my ever growing ‘why the hell do they add animals to that anyway’ list (alongside toothpaste, orange juice and Worcestershire sauce…)

The reason that there is non vegan wine in Australia is due to fining, a late stage process of wine-making where things are added to the end product to remove impurities and to produce a clearer finish. The wine industry use eggs, dairy and fish products for this step, and although no traces of the fining agent remains in the finished product, animals were exploited along the way.

The good news is that it’s not at all necessary to use these products in wine making. When winemakers use alternatives to animal products in the fining process what occurs is not only a drink of kindness, but quite often an all round superior, organic product.

Tasmania has arguably some of Australia’s best cool climate wines, with Pinot Noir being the local specialty. The Tamar Valley is Tasmania’s oldest wine growing region and surrounds Launceston in the northern part of the state.

There are lots of vineyards and cellar doors in the area, producing some of the best vegan wine in Australia. On our way around the region we contacted as many as possible to find out what their vegan offerings were. The results are below, but please remember to check when you arrive as things often change regularly.

Josef Cromy Wines
370 Relbia Road, Relbia
Award winning restaurant and cellar door Josef Chromy Wines present one of Tasmania’s best food and wine experiences. Their Pinot Noirs are vegan-friendly and their chef will prepare vegan food if notified in advance.

Waterton Hall
61 Waterton Hall Road, Rowella, 7270.
Waterton Hall produce the only Viognier in Tasmania, and they use no fining agents making it vegan. It is extremely small batch and this vineyard has no cellar door, so contact them in advance if you want to make an appointment to visit or buy.

Stoney Rise Wine Company / Holyman
96 Hendersons Lane, Gravelly Beach
Joe Holyman, the winemaker at Stoney Rise, is regarded as one of Australia’s best. He also produces some of the best vegan wine in Australia. All the wines at this vineyard are vegan, delicious and need to be tasted! The view from the cellar door is beautiful, and Lou looked after us like royalty at the cellar door.

Iron Pot Bay Vineyard
7 West Bay Road, Rowella
A family-owned vineyard, all white wines at Iron Pot Bay are produced without fining agents so are vegan-friendly. Their restaurant in the century-old cottage also has a dedicated vegan menu.

Dalrymple Vineyards
337 Pipers Brook Road, Pipers Brook
Producing cool climate wines for over 30 years, all the wines at Dalrymple Vineyards are vegan, and the views are as outstanding as the drinks! Cellar door by appointment.

Sharmans Wines
175 Glenwood Road, Relbia
All of Sharmans red wines are vegan, as well as their 2019 Botrytis Riesling.

Beautiful Isle Wines
2 Upper McEwans Road, Legana
All of the wines at Beautiful Isle Wines are vegan, and is a family owned vineyard making wine with minimal interventions.

Loira Vines
3191 West Tamar Highway, Sidmouth
A small family owned vineyard, all the wines currently offered at Loira Vines are vegan. They also do amazing local produce vegan platters so are well recommended as a stop for lunch.

Winter Brook Vineyard
150 Hjorts Road, Loira
A boutique vineyard, winery and tasting room, all of the red wines at Winter Brook Vineyard are unfined and unfiltered, so vegan friendly. For Vintage 2020 they expect the following red wines: Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Blaufränkisch and the Maverick (a blend from the 3 previous wines). Their cider is vegan friendly as well.

Sinapius Vineyard
4232 Bridport Road, Pipers Brook
Sustainable grape growing and traditional techniques are used Sinapius – a beautiful family owned vineyard, with many vegan choices on offer. You can choose from their 2017 Chardonnay, 2018 Rosé, 2018 Esmé Rouge (Gamay) and their two close planted 2016 Pinot Noirs (La Clairiére and The Enclave). These wines are all made from grapes grown on their small 4 hectare estate without any additions and are un-fined and un-filtered.  No food on offer at this venue – it’s all about the wine!

Moore’s Hill
3343 West Tamar Highway, Sidmouth
Visit Moore’s Hill – Tasmania’s first off-grid winery and taste two incredible vegan wines – the 2018 Pinot Gris and 2018 Rosé which use plant-based fining agents.
They can serve a vegan tasting platter at the cellar door by request, using organic micro salad, walnuts, olive oil, pickles and relishes with sourdough bread. 

Pipers Brook
1216 Pipers Brook Road, Pipers Brook
At this stage only their Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir, Pipers Brook Reserve Pinot Noir, and New Certan Pinot Noir are vegan. Pipers Brook also have a cafe which serve vegan food options.

Jansz
1216B Pipers Brook Road, Pipers Brook
Tasmanian sparkling is among the best in the world, and from Vintage 2015 all of their Jansz sparkling wines have been made vegan. As of Mid 2020, in regard to their Vintage sparklings, due to the time it takes to make these styles, currently only their 2015 Vintage Rosé is available. In regard to their Non-Vintage sparklings (wines blended from many vintages), their Jansz Premium Rosé is vegan.
Their Jansz Premium Cuvée will take a little longer to reach vegan status due to the older reserve wines that are used in the blend, though only in small quantities, and therefore they stated ‘we cannot claim that the wines are truly vegan until these are no longer part of the blend.’

Swinging Gate
163 Glendale Road, Sidmouth
A rustic cellar door and spa, most of their wines are vegan. All the Swinging Gate wines from 2018 onwards are confirmed as they have made those themselves. 

Non-vegan Vineyards
The following vineyards do not offer any vegan wine or food – Providence, Wines for Joanie, Brook Eden, Delamere, Bay of Fires. All of their wines use animal products in the fining process. Hopefully they soon catch up and join the growing legion of vegan wine in Australia!

You can read more about the Tamar Valley Wine Region on this website. The vineyards listed above all have vegan-friendly options, omission from this list does not mean non-vegan, as some vineyards did not get back to us. Call ahead to double check.

There are 3 more wine regions in Tasmania, stay tuned as we find out more of the best vegan wine around the state.

If you’re looking for vegan food in Launceston don’t miss Veg Out on Charles, who serve incredible 100% plant-based food and treats.

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We’re still in Launceston and guess who couldn’t stay away from @vegoutsisters and their amazing carrot cake ? ? I had to sneak off from the boys so I could have it all to myself ? #parentoftheyear

A post shared by Bryony – Animal Lover (@vegan_possum) on Feb 21, 2019 at 2:18pm PST

If you’re touring Tasmania then a visit to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is a must for all animal lovers. Run by vegans, they do incredible work around Tasmania for native wildlife, and are helping the endangered Tasmanian Devil.

Looking for your next holiday read? Check out some of these must read books for vegans.