What is blue wine made from? All About Blue Glitter Champagne

Today, it is almost impossible to surprise with the taste and quality of the drink, but blue champagne attracts special attention and great interest. This type of alcohol has an unusual taste, the original sky-blue color with a slight pearly tint. Some call this alcohol sparkling champagne.

Description of blue champagne

On the modern market, 2 types of real elite sparkling wines of a pale blue hue are provided. Despite the fact that blue color is rare in nature, this type of alcohol is a natural product.

To create it, blueberry extract and selected grape varieties that grow in Northern California and Spain are used.

On the California coast, there is enough coolness and moisture, and the soil is rich in nutrients. All these factors make it possible to grow the most delicious and high-quality Chardonnay variety. It belongs to the Muscat genus, but its flesh acquires a richer blue color than other types of vine, and the taste carries a characteristic sourness and sweetness.

Blue champagne is distinguished not only by its color, but also by its unique taste. The drink has a delicate fruity aroma with hints of vanilla. Its taste is soft, with a slight berry tint.

The technology for making blue sparkling wine is kept secret by manufacturers. Although the basic rules for its creation were open to the consumer, other distilleries have not yet been able to repeat the unusual taste. Alcohol belongs to the premium class. At the international wine festival in China, this type of alcohol received the highest award and bothered with the title "".

Who and how produces sparkling wine with sparkles

This type is produced in Spain. Near Barcelona is the city of Sant Sadurni de Andoia. There is a large factory here that produces elite ones. The distillery has its own vineyards, which grow only high-quality raw materials.

Natural blue sparkling wine can be obtained only with a given production technology and according to a special recipe. The basis of its creation was the Sharma method.

The method is as follows:

1. Initially, grapes are carefully selected and washed. Then they pass through a press to obtain a fruit mass.
2. In stainless steel cylindrical tanks, the mass is fermented. The timing of the process is determined by the winemakers, who constantly monitor it. The manufacturer does not use sugar to speed up and enhance the fermentation process.
3. The drink undergoes a special triple filtration. At one of the stages of purification, additives are introduced into sparkling wine, such as blueberry, pear and melon extract. In addition to these ingredients, alcohol contains a number of other substances that enrich, ennoble its taste and saturate the aroma.

There are some subtleties in this matter that winemakers prefer to keep secret.

The main country for the production of the original liquor is not only Spain, but also the United States. In California, they patented the rights to produce blue alcohol in 2008.

The product is natural and in its composition is close to the Spanish type of sparkling wine. To create it, Chardonnay grapes are also used, which are grown near the Pacific Ocean.

Varieties and price of the drink

• Don Luciano Blue Moscato (Spain);
• Blanc de Blue Cuvee Mousseux (USA);
• Blue Platino (Spain);
• Cloudem blue (Spain);
• Mavam (Spain).

The range of prices for alcohol is quite wide, it can vary from $6 to $200 per unit. Today, blue-colored alcohol can be purchased in almost any country in the world. It is most popular in Asian countries.

How to use

In order for the drink to reveal its taste and give pleasure when consumed, it must be cooled to + 10 ... 12 ° C. Putting a bottle in the freezer is not worth it, just keep the container in the cold for at least 2 hours.

Glasses are used special, on long legs. Glasses are not chilled before serving. It is enough that the drink itself will have the desired temperature.

According to etiquette, ice is not added to champagne, but this is a matter of individual preference.

Inhaling the aroma of brut, as is done with strong drinks, is considered bad form.

Drink alcohol in small sips, slowly. The drink can be briefly held in the mouth to reveal the whole bouquet of taste. Blue champagne has a subtle taste of rose petals, fragrant pear, blueberry and melon.

As an appetizer for alcohol, it is recommended to serve various types of dessert, fruit cuts, cheese platter or vegetable salads. The most popular dishes for this drink are all kinds of salads and seafood. They are served fried, boiled, marinated, stewed and steamed.

Due to the great popularity of sparkling champagne, the drink has become the leader in serving at weddings, as well as. During business negotiations and social events. Not only light blue wine is in special demand, but also gold, silver and pink drinks.

This group of alcohol has become a wide field for experimentation in the creation of various cocktails and the original serving of alcoholic beverages. Pyramids of glasses filled with colorful champagne look fascinating and colorful.

To enhance the color effect, many bartenders use special lighting on the counters. Shining glasses with a soft blue drink beckon with their appearance, creating the illusion that in each glass the clear blue sea is hidden in all its coolness and tenderness.

The world knows many famous varieties of wines that differ in taste, smell, shade (mainly red and white). However, few people could imagine that one day young winemakers will come up with a wine that has a bright blue color.

Wine is considered an established drink that does not tolerate experimentation. Therefore, even when developing new varieties, winemakers are guided by the precepts of famous masters, trying not to go beyond the centuries-old traditions. A team of young chemists from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) decided to break the immutable rules, who created the Gïk Blue blue wine. While the market is recovering from the appearance of a bold novelty in all respects, we decided to find out in more detail what this drink is.

History of appearance

According to one of the creators of the world's first blue wine, Aritz Lopez, a team of young winemakers wanted to bring something new to the market, break the habitual way, and see how the buyer would react to it. Therefore, it was decided not to pay attention to the foundations that have developed over the centuries, putting scientific and technological progress at the forefront.

The chosen strategy gave excellent results. Two years later, the first batch of Spanish Gïk Blue wine was shipped to retail chains, and the product developers founded their own winemaking company. The secret of the unusual shade of the drink lies in the use of white and red grapes along with natural flavors and dyes (anthocyanin and indigo carmine).

Long experiments with the gifts of nature also made it possible to achieve a rather pleasant taste. The wine turned out to be sweet and, thanks to the use of non-caloric sweeteners, has bright grape notes. Those who wish to try a blue glass of Spanish drink classify it as a mixture of wine and juice.

Opinion divided

One of the first restaurateurs who became interested in the novelty, Enrique Isasi, says that at first the guests did not believe that they were selling blue wine. However, after the first experience of using it, some of them began to visit Sushi Artist more often and invite their friends.

However, not all tasters liked the Spanish wine Gïk Blue. Particularly conservative sommeliers consider it a blasphemous invention that erases previously unshakable boundaries. Other opponents of the drink attribute it to the by-products of winemaking, at every opportunity drawing comparisons with strawberry gin, which Puerto de Indias began producing a few years ago. It consisted of regular gin and mashed strawberries. The new taste did not appeal to lovers of strong drinks. Therefore, strawberry gin never gained popularity, and its production was soon curtailed.

Now the fate of Spain's Gïk blue wine, as some sommeliers believe, will repeat the story of the development of Puerto de Indias. The creators of the product categorically disagree with the critics. According to them, the drink was developed for young people, who are not conservative. This is evidenced even by its name and the label with the image of a man with the head of a dog.

Already, young chemists have managed to attract many partners to their side and arrange supplies to 25 countries of the world. For the next year, the company plans to organize sales in the United States. At the same time, there is no talk of serious progress in the HoReCa sector - first people have to get used to an unusual product, and only then high demand will do its job.

Equipment for the production of beverages.

Casal Mendes Refreshing Blue - the first Portuguese blue wine

The first blue wine was produced just a couple of years ago, but in such a short period of time it has already managed to make a lot of noise. The phenomenon of this wine also attracted our attention. After offering this product to our key customers in February 2018 and hearing a lot of positive feedback, we decided to start working with it.

The key group of our potential clients is today's youth under the age of 35. Today's young people have a fast pace of life, they do not like to sit still, they love experiments and non-standard things, and they always strive to follow the latest in any field.

Company profile

• The Aliança company was founded in 1927 in the Bairrada region and at the initial stages built its business, focusing on the supply of wines to Brazil and the countries of Africa and Europe, where about 50% of the company's products are still sold.
• In 2005 Wine Spectator magazine included Aliança in the list of TOP 20 wineries in the world, and there was not a single winery from the Iberian Peninsula in the list.
• In 2007 Most of the shares of Aliança were bought by Senor Jose Bernardo and included in the Bacalhoa group, which is one of the largest wine companies in Portugal. With a history dating back to 1920, Bacalhoa produces and markets excellent Portuguese wines, each representing a specific wine region in the country. Company Bakalhoa is proud of its range, as a result of the work of a highly professional team and the ability to implement innovative technologies, while maintaining the tradition of wine production. The geography of the company includes seven wine regions, 1200 hectares of vineyards, 3 large wine centers. Bakalhoa wines are produced in accordance with the highest quality standards, as evidenced by numerous international awards, and most importantly - the recognition of customers.
• Aliança currently has its own vineyards in the main wine regions of Portugal: Alentejo, Douro, Dao, Bairrada, Beiras, totaling 600 hectares. Recent investments in production halls and modernization of the cellars have increased the level and purity of vinification. The company paid special attention to high-quality oak barrels for aging its premium wines.
• Casal Mendes was born out of the growing popularity of Vinho Verde in Portuguese restaurants. The brand was launched on the market in the early 80s of the 20th century. For the production of white wine, selected grapes from the northern regions of Portugal were used. A few decades later, the brand expanded to include red and rosé wines. And since 2017 there was also a blue version of Casal Mendes, made on the basis of Vinho Verde wine.

The blue wine phenomenon

• The blue wine phenomenon began in 2016. in Spain. The first official wine produced appeared under the name "Gik". Unusual wine owes its appearance to six young entrepreneurs who had no experience in winemaking before. According to them, they tried to shake up the traditional food industry and create a completely new product, primarily for fun.
• According to the authors of the project, the concept of blue wine was born thanks to the book on business strategy The Blue Ocean Strategy. In particular, it compares business markets to "red oceans" full of bloodthirsty sharks that destroy small fish and turn the water red, and blue oceans where there is no competition and fish swim calmly. So the idea was born to turn the traditionally red liquid into blue.
• The grapes for this unusual wine are grown in several Spanish and French vineyards. Gik is based on white wine, to which the organic dye E-133 is added. As the producers say, developing wine, they consulted with researchers from the University of the Basque Country (the only public university in the Basque Country, an autonomous region in northern Spain). Blue wine meets European food standards.
• During its 2-year existence, about 15 different brands of blue wines have already appeared on the market, mainly created in Spain and France, but at the same time, the blue wine market itself is still quite modest, even the pioneer wine “Gik” was sold in only 25- ty countries of the world in quantities not exceeding 100,000 bottles. per year at a retail price of 10 EUR.
• The strength of Casal Mendes Refreshing Blue is a much more honest price: unlike its Spanish and French counterparts for 8-12 EUR per bottle, its cost is only 3 EUR on the shelf in Portugal. The strength of the drink is also "friendly" - 10%, as opposed to 11.5%, and in terms of sugar, the drink is rather semi-dry than semi-sweet, unlike many competitors.
• Since wine can only be called a product of fermentation, and not other food technologies, blue wines are classified as "flavoured wine-based drink".

An unusual sparkling wine - blue champagne - appeared relatively recently, in 2015, and in 2017 it turned out to be at the peak of popularity. Despite the fact that conservatives reacted to blue champagne with a share of skepticism, the youth and female audience accepted the novelty with a bang, as evidenced by numerous photos with a glass on Instagram. Today you can buy blue champagne produced in California, Spain, Italy.

Production features and flavors

Blue champagne is made using the shortened champagne technology, the Sharma method, adding vegetable dyes at the final stage of fermentation.

• Californian winemakers offer a dry version - blue Chardonnay Blanc de Bleu champagne, using blueberry extract in the production of the drink.
• In Spain they make sweet sparkling wine from white muscat. The azure color of the wine is the result of the use of natural food colors anthocyanins obtained from grape skins and indigotine.
• The Italian version is based on Moscatel grapes - the same Muscat, and similar organic dyes approved for use in the EU.

Blue champagne has a light pleasant taste and aroma, in which fresh tones of fruit are guessed. In some wines it is melon and apricot, in others it is a subtle lemon and notes of lychee with hints of rose petals. The aftertaste is pleasant, absolutely not cloying, despite the sweetness. The recommended serving temperature is 5-6 degrees Celsius.

Blue champagne, the price of which does not bite at all, will be the highlight of the festive table, will give any party a special intrigue and will definitely give you an anticipation of something unusual. Surprise your guests, buy the perfect aperitif - blue champagne in our store. Winestyle presents only original drinks, the quality of which is beyond doubt.

Today we focus on one of the most unusual wines in the world. Yes, what is there! The most unusual to date!

This wine appeared less than a year ago. And the author of this creation is the Gik company. Actually, the name of the wine was not particularly refined: the blue wine is called Gik Live.

Looks cool, what's there to hide. True, will such a wine be to the taste of true, a little conservative wine lovers?

Is blue wine really that good?

Firstly, this wine is Spanish, and the wines of Spain, as you know, are famous for their quality and are dearly loved all over the world. It is said that the color of the wine did not affect its taste in any way. So you can expect to get real Spanish wine. Keep in mind though that there are many wineries in Spain, so just because you like a certain Spanish wine doesn't mean you'll like Gik Live as well.

Where does the blue color come from?

You don't have to worry, everything is natural. To obtain the blue color, white and red grapes were taken. Next, anthocyanins intervened - these are natural substances that are found in grape skins. Actually, they color the wine in such an unusual color.

Why is this wine needed?

Everything is clear here: the manufacturers sought to create a product that would clearly stand out on the shelf in the store. But buyers will also buy this wine at least once to amaze colleagues, acquaintances or friends. Agree that shocking?

Issue price

This wine currently costs 10 euros. And then it's up to you to decide whether to give such an amount for wine or not. By the way, for Europe, such a price for wine is high. There, in the wine paradise, they don't buy wines more expensive than 3 euros. Well, usually. Unfortunately, blue wine has not yet arrived in Russia, but while waiting for it, you can prepare your body by tasting a good half of Spanish wines from the WineStreet store.

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