Veganuary Vino!

Looking for some excellent quality Vegan-friendly wines this Veganuary? Fionnuala Harkin from Wines Direct and the wonderful Wine Shed gives her top picks for vino-loving vegans this January...

Looking for some excellent quality Vegan-friendly wines this Veganuary? Fionnuala Harkin from Wines Direct and the wonderful Wine Shed gives her top picks for vino-loving vegans this January…

Fionnuala is a woman of many talents when it comes to wine! Not only is she a wine merchant for the wonderful Wines Direct, she is also a wine consultant for the hospitality industry, a WSET course instructor and also founder of the brilliant Wine Shed West Cork.

She has an immaculate palate, and her wine knowledge is immense! Back in the time before the C-word, Fionnuala established Wine Shed – a boutique gathering of people who love wine, great company, delicious nibbly bits and wanted to wrap all of that up as an excuse to learn more about wine. I attended, I think, three of the events and they were always brilliant. Since we found ourselves in Covid-restricted times, when such jovial gatherings are on hold until some hopeful point in the future, Fionnuala took to her @wineshedwestcork Instagram account to give a regular Wine O’Clock virtual tasting on new and interesting wines. It kept the Wine Shed community going, and also brought her knowledge to a whole new audience. One day, the gatherings will commence again, but in the meantime, I encourage you heartily to follow Fionnuala and @wineshedwestcork.

Fionnuala Harkin of Wines Direct & Wine Shed (photo credit: @thadytraphoto)

Of course, it’s January, and that means it’s also Veganuary – a time when we are encouraged to try and up our quotient of plant-based foods or go completely Vegan for one month as a way to raise awareness of the movement. Even though I am a carnivore, after the Christmas excesses, Veganuary seems a good idea as a way of getting used to eating in a normal, and healthy, way again!

It is not widely known that wine is not always guaranteed Vegan, and in fact it may not always say it on the label either. This is where having a connection with a local wine merchant, like Fionnuala, comes in fierce handy – they will know which wines are and are not Vegan friendly.

So I asked Fionnuala if she could share with me her recommendations for excellent quality January wines for Veganuary. And note that excellent quality doesn’t translate automatically as ‘pricey’ and there are wines here for every budget.

All these wines are available to order online at www.winesdirect.ie for delivery direct to your door. And if you would like a little extra advice, you can contact Fionnuala either by DM to @wineshedwestcork or by email to fharkin@winesdirect.ie

Wines Direct have about 150 excellent vegan wines available – but here is a small selection that Fionnuala really rates! Price per bottle in brackets, and links to the correct Wines Direct page are included too.

In the ‘natural, unfiltered, for the more adventurous drinker’ category, Fionnuala recommends:

Cheers!

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