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How Much Alcohol in Vegan Prosecco?

How Much Alcohol in Vegan Prosecco?

More and more people are opting for a vegan diet - and many brands are following suit and providing quality vegan options.

The wine industry is no exception - and there are many quality vegan wines (including Prosecco, of course) available on the market.

But how much alcohol does vegan Prosecco contain? And how is vegan Prosecco any different from regular Prosecco?

Keep reading to learn more about vegan Prosecco, including how it’s made, how it tastes, how much alcohol it contains, and how long it can last.

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What is Vegan Prosecco?

Although Prosecco is essentially fermented grapes, unfortunately, not all Prosecco is suitable for vegans.

Before we talk about what vegan-friendly Prosecco is, we should talk about non-vegan Prosecco. First of all, the grapes are fermented to produce alcohol and co2 (bubbles). This part of the process leaves the wine looking cloudy, with sediment (usually proteins) floating around. Not everybody likes cloudy Prosecco, so most vintners will put the wine through the fining process.

This is the stage in which Prosecco becomes non-vegan. Vintners will use fining agents, and sometimes, these fining agents contain animal products such as fish bladder gelatin, fish oil, blood, bone marrow, casein (milk protein), chitin (crustacean shells), and egg whites.

These products are only used on a small scale and get filtered out after they’ve done the job. However, the final product will be unsuitable for vegans, vegetarians, and those on a plant-based diet.

The good news is that there are many vegan Prosecco options, as well as other wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and even Syrah. In fact, pretty much any wine can be vegan if vegan fining agents have been used, or if the wine hasn’t been fined.

Some vegan fining agents may include silica gel, silica clay, kaolin, pea gelatine, kieselguhr, and activated charcoal. More and more vintners are moving with the times and using vegan-friendly fining agents instead of those with animal products.

According to The Vegan Society, only around 150,000 people in the UK had a vegan diet. However, in 2019, this figure rose to over 600,000 - and it’s sure to be much higher in 2022.

There are vegan Prosecco options in most good supermarkets, restaurants, bars, as well as plenty of quality online stores. Why not check out our very own ThinK Vegan Wine?

 

How Does Vegan Prosecco Taste?

Prosecco is a fresh and aromatic crisp wine, with medium to high levels of acidity. Typically, it’s a lighter-bodied wine with fruity and floral notes.

You can taste a variety of flavours in Prosecco, including honeysuckle, peach, apple, pear, and melon. Some secondary flavours you may notice include tropical fruits, hazelnut, and cream.

It has large and frothy bubbles which give it the signature Prosecco ‘zing’.

It’s not typically a sweet wine despite its fruity flavours. There are three levels of sweetness - brut, extra dry, and dry.

This may appear confusing, but ‘dry’ Prosecco is actually the sweetest Prosecco there is, with around 17-32 grams of residual sugar per litre. Brut Prosecco has much less residual sugar, with between 0-12 grams. Extra-dry Prosecco has between 12-17 grams per litre, making it a safe middle ground if you’re not sure which you’d prefer.

You’ll be glad to know that vegan Prosecco tastes the same as regular Prosecco, with all the fruity and floral flavours.

However, if you opt for unfiltered/ unfined Prosecco, then you may notice a difference in the texture - it may appear a little cloudier, and have a slightly thicker texture.

 

How Much Alcohol Does Vegan Prosecco Contain?

Most Prosecco has an alcohol percentage of 12%, but this can vary from brand to brand. This is the same amount found in other sparkling wines such as Cava and Champagne.

If you want to know how much alcohol that vegan Prosecco contains, check out the ABV on the label (alcohol by volume).

You can find low alcohol options on the market, with as little as 4% ABV. This is just a third of the amount of alcohol found in your usual Prosecco.

Different types of Prosecco will have different alcohol percentages. For example, Prosecco Frizzante typically has over 9%, Prosecco Spumante will have over 11%, and your classic Prosecco will contain roughly 11.5%.

 

What About Calories?

The alcohol found in Prosecco is made from sugar and natural starch, which means that Prosecco has calories.

The calories found in alcohol are classed as empty calories as they have zero nutritional value - meaning they have no benefits.

A typical glass of Prosecco will contain around 80 calories and 1.5g of sugar - meaning that three glasses contain around the same amount of calories as a McDonald’s burger.

If you have the occasional glass of Prosecco, you won’t need to worry about calories - however, if you’re a regular Prosecco drinker, then you may want to choose a low-cal option or limit your intake.

Opt for brut Prosecco if you’re looking for a low-sugar, low-calorie option - it’s the driest Prosecco and contains less sugar and fewer calories.

At ThinK Wine, we offer low-sugar and low-calorie Prosecco and Rosé. You can check out our delicious selection here.

 

How Long Does Prosecco Last?

Some wines taste better after ageing, but unfortunately, Prosecco isn’t one of these wines.

How you store your wine will affect how well it tastes after a period of time - and if stored correctly, Prosecco can last for years (provided it hasn’t been opened, of course!).

However, as soon as you open your Prosecco, it will start deteriorating. Because Prosecco has a relatively high sugar content, it will lose its fizz and flavours a lot quicker than other wines.

It won’t really go ‘off’, but it will start to develop unpleasant flavours, and go flat - so it will likely become bland in both flavour and texture.

Humidity levels are important when storing your Prosecco - too much humidity can cause moisture to accumulate around the bottle and destroy the labels, whereas too little humidity could cause the cork to dry out and shrink, exposing the Prosecco to oxygen. This will cause the Prosecco to lose its fizz pretty quickly.

Prosecco that has gone bad will have a yellow/ brown appearance, so if you notice this, it’s probably best to pour it down the sink. Another way of knowing whether your wine has gone bad is by smelling it - if you don’t notice the signature Prosecco ‘zing’, or if it’s releasing musty aromas, then it might have gone bad.

We recommend drinking your Prosecco in the first two years of purchasing it. It’s always best to store your wines in a quality wine cooler.

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