residues in red wines

There are a couple of points you've touched on that I would like to expand a bit.

First off, there are a variety of fining agents used in winemaking. Some of them are the egg whites and bentonite that you've named, as well as gelatin, isinglbutt, PVPP, kieselsohl, casein and a number of proprietary formulations. Each of them is used to address different properties in wines.

Bentonite is used to remove heat-unstable proteinaceous materials that can cause clouding in wine after bottling. This is especially true of white wines, where cloudiness is particularly visible (and objectionable), but it does occur in some red wines as well - particularly Pinot Noir. Bentonite is also used prior to filtration to remove gummy particulates that tend to blind filter media.

Egg whites, gelatin and isinglbutt are each commonly used to address excessive tannins in young wines. As you said, egg whites are not so frequently used nowadays.

PVPP is a synthetic compound that is used to counter browning in white wine and juice.

Kieselsohl is a silicate compound that is used to help compact fining lees.

Casein is used to remove harshness and-or color from white wines. It also tends to remove oak flavors.

Various combinations of the above are frequently used to "polish" a wine - either prior to bottling or prior to filtration and bottling.

On the Vegan topic: I don't understand why fining materials, such as egg whites or gelatin e.g., are an issue at all. The fining materials all precipitate from the wine (carrying off whatever they were meant to remove) and do not remain in the finished product.

Furthermore, although some extremely minute traces of them may remain behind, what about the traces of the yeast itself that remain in ALL wines - fined or not? Yeast certainly isn't a vegetable or mineral! Are Vegans permitted to consume products of these microscopic animals?

I can understand the reasons for a vegetarian lifestyle. Avoiding meats, cheese and eggs will likely extend one's lifetime some amount. What I don't understand is the extreme fanaticism that seems to be part of the Vegan philosophy. It seems to be a clear case of picking the fly sh** out of the pepper!

Tom S