The best wines for vegan food | Fiona Beckett drinking

The subject of wine with vegan food normally focuses on whether or not the producer used animal products such as isinglass (or fish bladder) , egg white (both of which are increasingly rare these days) or milk protein (much more common) in the fining process. But, given the popularity of vegan food, most supermarkets have now dropped even the last of them, allowing them to claim, quite rightly, that most of their wines are suitable for vegans. p>

However, if you're vegan, or just decided to eat vegan this month, that's not quite the point, is it ? Veganism usually stems from a concern about where your food comes from and a desire to produce it as naturally as possible. And most commercial winemaking, like other large-scale commercial food production, uses a battery of additives to get an acceptable result at an affordable price, which is why most vegans, I think, would prefer to drink wines that have had minimal intervention - in other words, natural (although that in itself is a controversial term).

There is also the question of what you are likely to eat with this wine. Unless they're designed to mimic meat, plant-based meals are more indicative of white wines than reds, but at this cool time of year, especially when many of us have the heating off, it might just be the last thing you want. .

The ideal answer, I think, is orange or amber wine, that is, wine made from white grapes whose juice is left in contact with the skins in much the same way as to make a red. This not only leaves the wine with a more pronounced color, which can range from pale gold to dark orange, depending on the extent of maceration, but also a more tannic structure that can withstand robust food. Think roasted eggplant, mushrooms, celeriac and cauliflower, dark leafy greens such as sprouts and kale, nuts (especially walnuts), legumes and tahini.

Aromatic grape varieties such as Malvasia, Solaris and Pinot Gris are particularly pleasant with any of these. The downside is that they often aren't cheap, but if January means restraint rather than denial, you can make a bottle last for two to three days, especially if you consider it a weekend treat. .

There is a cheaper alternative though – cider – and that might also keep you going for the rest of the week. I'm not sure cider makers would be flattered to be considered second best to natural wine, although the products might be similar, but apples really have an affinity with many vegetables, especially root vegetables and the green vegetables. And if you're not drinking alcohol in January, why not make apple juice out of it, like the absolutely gorgeous Falstaff juice in today's selection, which would count as at least one of the 30 plants that we're now supposed to try to consume weekly, according to Professor Tim Spector of Zoe.

Five Great Pairings for Plant-Based Foods

Lyrarakis Gerodeti Melissaki 2021 £16.55 Field & Fawcett, £17 Corks of Bristol, £18.49 (or £17.57 if you buy six) Cambridge Wine Merchants, 13.5%. A Cretan cocktail with fruit flavors (quince, pear, papaya), but dry and very tannic. Try with roasted whole celeriac (melissaki is the variety).

Denbies Orange Solaris 2021 £25 denbies.co.uk, 12%. Even English producers are making orange wine these days. Delicious peach and apricot fruit, with a hint of orange blossom.

Iford Wild Session Fresh Juice Cider, £18 (for 6 x 440ml cans) ifordcider .com, 4.7%. Sweet, sweet, off-dry cider - as the name suggests, sessionable.

Townsend Farm Falstaff Apple Juice, £4.25 (75cl, or £20 for six ) New Market Dairy Altrincham. Deliciously fresh and tangy apple juice that goes well with a crisp coleslaw or fennel salad.