Tool Frontman Produces Vegan Wines

Maynard James Keenan—best known for his role as the frontman of three-time Grammy award-winning rock band Tool—showcased his Arizona-based wine label Caduceus Cellars at a dinner last week at San Francisco’s Barrel Room. In addition to actively touring with Tool for 26 years, Keenan became one of the pioneers in modern winemaking in Arizona when he founded Caduceus Cellars in 2004. While many winemakers use egg whites and isinglass—a fish bladder derivative—to filter their wines, Keenan told VegNews that none of his wines contain animal products and instead go through a natural filtration process in which wine is poured over the top of fermenting grapes, then filtered through paper to collect sediment. A growing number of wine producers—including basketball-champion-turned-winemaker John Salley—are opting for more natural production methods sans animal products.