Frequently Asked Questions
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Are your wines vegan friendly?
We are very proud of our growing Vegan friendly ranges. A list of all available options can be viewed here. All other brands are not vegan friendly due to the fining stages of the winemaking process however traces of any animal products are less than one part per million across all Fourth Wave Wine products.
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Are your wines gluten free?
Yes, all of our wines are gluten free.
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What are sulfites?
Sulfites (spelling according to the Australian Food Standards) are naturally present in many foods, beverages and medicines throughout Australia. They are also added to preserve the flavour and freshness of a product and increase shelf life. There are various technical reasons related to wine making which may mean that very low levels of sulphites are still present. Cask wine and white wines will have higher concentrations of sulphites than bottled red wine which is preserved by tannins.
For further information on allergies relating to sulphites please review the Australian Allergy Organisation https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/product-allergy/sulfite-allergy and consult your doctor.
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How is an organic/vegan/sustainable wine different in taste and quality from non-organic taste and quality?
Organic wines can be tastier to consumers because in the vineyard and the winery, you are replacing chemicals with labour. Organic vignerons need to care more about the vines and the vineyards, they need to protect it from mildew, they need to harvest at a specific time. In more general terms, they need to be paying more attention to their grapes.
There have been very good studies showing that overall, organic grapes tend to have lower yields, which gives you a better grape with more concentrated flavour and thus, a better wine. There are also many wine producers that don’t make a song and dance about their organic practices as they are not fully certified, but it means the quality of the farming has gone up and that in turn means more concentrated fruit intensity.
For a sustainable taste, it is difficult to generalise across the whole category, but organic wines may seem fresher and more vital in their youth with greater intensity. Some sustainable or natural wines that have been unfined and unfiltered however, can come across as a bit raw, rustic and rough around the edges, but therein lies their appeal. Preservative Free wines have a rawness too as there is nothing but the fruit; these should really be drunk within one or two years of bottling as well.