Celebrate California Wine Month with California’s Best Vegan Wines!

 September is California Wine Month! And with our headquarters in both New York and California, Vegan Wines is fully aware of how great wines made in this country can be. California is unquestionably the wine capital of the US – with its fantastic varietals, landscapes, vineyards, and wineries. If you haven't been, we suggest you take a trip and experience it for yourself! California wine is more than just Zinfandel these days (though, of course, California Zins are amazing). We've traveled extensively throughout the Golden State's wine country seeking out the best vegan wines to add to our collection. To celebrate California Wine Month, here are a few of the best California wineries we partner with – and how you can buy these wines for yourself!

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Proulx

This family-owned winery out of Paso Robles, California is one of our favorites. Their carefully tended 55-year-old vineyard and other select vines around the area have produced stellar wines since the Proulx label was started in 2004. (Oh, and it's pronounced "proo.") Sourcing the best fruits, owners Genoa and Kevin Riley handpick the grapes that will create the smoothness their wines are known for. Today, they only produce 1500 cases a year with an eye toward quality and approachable wines that are ready to drink at an early age.  Ready to try their wine yet? Their Red Label Zinfandel has aromas of black fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, and crushed cloves. It’s a silky smooth, full-bodied wine that’s classic and polished. This Paso Robles Zinfandel will please lovers of robust, rich wines.

Shop the 2015 Proulx Red Label Zinfandel!

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Amista Vineyards

Vicky and Mike Farrow dreamed of owning a vineyard since they first met in 1982. After much consideration, waiting, and planning, they finally planted their first grapes over 10 years later – 150 Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Mike then whisked Vicky off to Sonoma, where they purchased 20 gorgeous acres of Chardonnay in Dry Creek Valley near Healdsburg, California.  Today, Vicky, Mike, and Amista Vineyards are all about the pleasures that come with living in California’s wine country – good wine, good food, and good friends. Roughly translated, Amista means "making friends" in Spanish. Their goal is to preserve the essential characteristics of the fruit, keeping the process light on the oak to focus on the fruit flavors in the wine.  Their Amista Tres is a Rhone blend with a big, rich, lingering finish. With a fruit-forward palate, it has notes of sandalwood, plum, orange blossom, bing cherry, and cardamom. Grapes for the Tres were picked and sorted by hand, de-stemmed, and gently crushed. After fermenting in stainless steel, the wines were put into neutral oak barrels and aged for 15 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Shop the 2015 Amista Tres!

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Protector Cellars

If you haven’t given canned wine a chance yet, please allow Protector Cellars to be your first! All of their wines are made with certified sustainable grapes, and they’ve gone beyond carbon neutral to become the world’s first climate positive winery! That means they have a net positive effect on the environment by pulling more greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere than they put in during the winemaking process. They do this by reducing electricity, water, pesticides, and fossil fuel consumption in their vineyards. Then, by using cans instead of glass bottles, they reduce the packaging portion of their emissions by over 60%. And finally, as if they haven’t done enough already, Protector Cellars partners with organizations around the world that plant trees to capture more carbon dioxide than they produce in the entirety of their operation! After a decade of making very high-end wines, owner Alexander Katz gained the knowledge necessary to make spectacular wines that are "seriously good, but not too serious." Their fantastic canned wines - they have a white, red, and rosé! – are made for enjoying with good food and friends. Give them a try today!

Shop Protector Cellars Canned Wines!

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Lepe Cellars

Owner Miguel Lepe created Lepe Cellars to showcase the best of Monterey County wines. After working in South America and California wineries, he now blends the best of Old World and New World techniques, enabling the wine to develop naturally over time, keeping it as pure as possible, and highlighting the region's true terroir. Lepe Cellars sources from organically farmed vineyards that are hand-harvested to keep the fruit pristine and whole.  This winery farms in a way that respects the biodiversity of the land. Using a sustainable and natural approach by spending time in the vineyards and using low-intervention, artisanal methods, Lepe Cellars avoids pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. They ferment their grapes in small batches using native yeasts that originate in the vineyard and cellar, creating increased complexity. Aged in French oak barrels and allowing the wine to evolve naturally at its own pace, their wines are never fined and they use no additives – making all of their wines organic, vegan, and sustainable! Lepe Cellars' 2017 Zinfandel is meant to be shared on hot summer days and cool winter nights alike with good friends and family. With characteristics of black cherry, raspberry, and blueberry and hints of oak and spices, this wine has a smooth finish. It’s perfect for pairing with grilled or roasted vegetables.

Shop the 2017 Lepe Cellars Zinfandel!

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Celebrate California Wine Month this September with Vegan Wines!

Purchase a few of these bottles to celebrate California wines! We’re celebrating the harvest throughout the state and all over the world this month. Join us by opening a bottle to toast California’s winemakers, and be sure to tag your posts with #CaliforniaWineMonth throughout September! And don’t forget to visit the California Wine Month website for a full schedule of virtual events, tastings, and ways you can learn more about this exciting wine region! Cheers!

Shop California Wines at Vegan Wines!