Monday marks the beginning of National Vegetarian Week, promoting the benefits and pleasures of a meat-free diet. What could be more “vegetarian” than the fermented juice of the grape? This was my own question when I was asked to provide vegan wine for a recent dinner.

Organic wine, with reduced sulphites and vines free of insecticides, I was familiar with, but vegetarian and vegan wine sounded like something out of Star Wars. In my ignorance, I was unaware that the making of most wine involves animal-derived products.

Essentially, of course, wine is grape juice in which yeasts, either natural or cultured, have converted the grape-juice sugars into alcohol. But all young wine is naturally hazy, due to its containing proteins, tartrates, tannins and phenolics – all perfectly natural and in no way harmful – that not only cause clouding but affect flavour, texture and colour.