Fox & Fox

Vegan Wines

A careful combination of Burgundian and Champagne clones of Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot gris allow us to create wines with enticing fruit flavours, aroma and complexity.

Whether it’s the pure un-oaked Chardonnay of our Essence, the Fox & Fox take on Blanc de Noirs that we call Tradition or our Inspiration Blanc de Gris – our aim is not to copy other styles of sparkling wine, but to create new and exciting wines that reflect the quality of the fruit and the conditions in which it was grown.

Our Philosophy

At Fox & Fox we make carefully crafted sparkling wines that have all the quality of a fine Champagne, but with a unique English twist.

Our wines are distinctive. They are characterised by rich fruit flavours on the first sip, together with a satisfyingly long and refreshing finish. This is a direct consequence of the focus that we bring in winemaking to allowing the fruit favours to express themselves with minimal intervention.

We only use grapes that we grow ourselves. Great care is taken in the vineyard to deliver perfect fruit to the winery.

Our wines acquire their richness & fruit flavours from the long growing season, extended lees age and medium yielding burgundy clones, while they gain their acid backbone and freshness from champagne clones.

We take great care in achieving the optimal cépage for each cuvée and matching it with the best dosage. We only make limited edition cuvées when a parcel of grapes is particularly outstanding.

We would characterise our philosophical approach to the wines we make as careful, imaginative, respectful of the nuance of season and place, non-interventionist, disciplined and thoughtful.

Why Do We Make Vegan Wine at Fox & Fox?

All of our wines are 100% suitable for vegans, each wine is registered with The Vegan Society so that you can be 100% comfortable that they meet your ethical standards.

Isn’t All Wine Vegan or Vegetarian?

Since grapes and yeast are the main ingredients used in winemaking, many people are surprised to learn that wines aren’t always vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter. Even though the wine itself may not list any animal-based ingredients, many winemakers use animal products during the production process.

Here are a just a few reasons why wine isn’t always vegan or vegetarian:

Farming Methods

Although we may sometimes wish it does, vegan wine does not magically appear in a bottle.

The winemaking process starts in the vineyard and farming methods can involve the use of synthetic pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Even UK organic farmers use bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, and liquified fish to fertilize the soil.

Farming methods don’t have to be disclosed, which can make it difficult to determine whether or not wine is vegan.

At Fox & Fox we use natural fertilizers, either plant-based compost or lime rich soil additions like chalk or limestone.  We work hard to grow the healthiest vines we can, we focus on plant nutrition with foliar-feeds derived from seaweed to keep the vines in top form.

Fining Agents

After the grapes are crushed and left to ferment, a number of byproducts are produced, such as dead yeast cells, grape skin, pulp, and stalks.

To remove these insoluble materials from the wine, many winemakers will clarify it using fining agents. These agents are introduced into the wine and act as coagulants, attracting the unwanted byproducts and making it easier to filter.

Many of the traditional fining agents are not vegan:

• Casein (milk protein)
• Isinglass (fish bladder protein)
• Albumin (egg white)
• Gelatin (animal protein)

Therefore, just because a bottle of wine does not list any non-vegan ingredients on its label does not mean that it is truly suitable for vegans or vegetarians.

At Fox & Fox we let time do the work, we don’t fine or filter our wines.  We make sure we use Vegan certified sugar in those years when we need to help the first fermentation along and for supporting the second fermentation in the bottle which adds those all important bubbles.  Taking time adds to the costs but we believe that it’s worthwhile to take extra time and care with the wine-making. We think the results speak for themselves.

How is Vegan Wine Made?

In order for wine to be classified as suitable for vegans, winemakers must ensure that the farming methods used are vegan-friendly.

How Do I Know if Wine is Vegan?

It can be quite challenging to find vegan wine in the UK and even more so internationally.

As we mentioned earlier, winemakers do not have to disclose the ingredients they used during the winemaking process, nor the farming methods with which they grew the grapes.

Nevertheless, there are a few ways to find out if a wine or other drink is vegan:

1. Contact the Winemaker

You can use the Chat-bot on this website to talk directly to Jonica Fox  so if you have a question we haven’t answered here, feel free to say hello and ask her directly.If you are looking at a wine with no direct access then try Social Media or their website “contact us” to ask your questions.

2. Check for Vegan Certification

A sure-fire way to ensure that you are buying vegan wine is to check a company’s certification.

At Fox & Fox we make it easy: we’re proud to have the Vegan Society Logo on the back label of every wine we produce.

Looking out for certifications, such as The Vegan Trademark, allows you to identify that a product is compliant with third party standards and clearly demonstrates that a vegan wine brand aligns with your values.

3. Search Barnivore

Barnivore is the world’s biggest vegan alcohol database, which relies upon its readers to update it whenever possible. They also list the contact details of winemakers, breweries, and distilleries, so that you can easily call up the manufacturers and producers if you are unsure.

Our Fox & Fox Vegan Wine Collection is listed on Barnivore

Did you know that all of our Fox & Fox wines are registered with the Vegan Society?

Our vegan wines are also grown and produced by us, right here in the UK! So you can be 100% comfortable that they meet your ethical standards.

Our History

We are Jonica & Gerard Fox and have been growing vines since 2004 and producing wine since 2009. Throughout we have remained true to our first love – crafting limited quantities of top quality Sparkling Wines with a unique English twist.

We grow Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot gris; a mixture of medium yielding Burgundy clones, which mature richly in our Sussex High Weald terroir, alongside Champagne clones for structure. This carefully selected combination allows us to create Fox & Fox wines with enticing fruit flavours, aroma & complexity.

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

With over a decade as Boutique Grower Producers we find that we are constantly learning and putting new ideas to work – especially in the vineyards, where every season has its challenges and our constant goal is to grow the best quality grapes possible.

Soil, Site & micro-climatic variation all make a difference and individual vineyard parcels often require a bespoke approach to soil nutrition, pruning & cultivation.

We are privileged to work with a skilled and highly talented team of experts, which we have assembled over the years and who work with us at every stage of growing our vines and making our wines.

RESPECTING TRADITION

In the winery, we’re more traditional: we aim for cool fermentations and minimal manipulation to create wines that speak of their vintage and cool climate East Sussex origins. The emphasis is on minimal intervention in the vineyard & light manipulation in the winery. Quality is favoured over quantity. Huge attention is taken to getting perfect fruit to the winery.

We love wine, all wine and spend a lot of time tasting and thinking about sparkling wine in all its glorious forms.

CREATING UNIQUE & DELICIOUS WINES

Our wines are the result of critical evaluation and a desire to create interesting and delicious cuvées for wine lovers and occasional drinkers alike. We make for those who like to revel in the subtle differences between vintages, tasting the changing nuance of season, place & vineyard parcel.

Each parcel of grapes is vinified individually to create the components for our blends, which vary according to the grape variety and the vintage. We take great care in achieving the optimal blend of varietals for each cuvée, leaving blends to mature on their lees as long as they need to, balancing each wine with precise dosage to show off its character and finally allowing it all to assimilate in bottle for as long as it takes until we are happy that it is ready to release.

At Fox & Fox we make a core range of wines each vintage and add limited edition wines, which only appear in exceptional years. This keeps our winemaking fresh and allows us to gently push the boundaries in pursuit of the perfect English fizz.

OUR VINEYARD

Our vines sit close to the ancient hilltop village of Mayfield, amongst the rolling hills, woodlands and deep-cut ghylls of the Sussex High Weald. Surrounded by bluebell woods in springtime and over-flown by Buzzards, Red Kites and other hawks in summer; our wines are an evocation of this unique Sussex countryside at its best.

Welcome to Fox & Fox, we do hope you enjoy our wines.