It wasn't that long ago, I explained that the wine was not only 3 colors, but that a fourth color existed : orange. This was without counting the latest marketing invention in the world of wine : wine blue.
You bring together a group of young Spaniards, some designers, other chemists or artists. You stir everything and you get an extraordinary wine : Gik.
The blue wine of innovation
The last time we heard about blue wine, it was in the years 60 when Yves Klein was opening his exhibition of the void. But to get this very atypical blue color, methylene blue was used and scientific studies point to the risk of drinking this kind of compound. This "new version" is obtained thanks to a blend of white and red wine., indigo pigments and anthocyanins (these are natural pigments present in the skin of the grape).
When you ask these young people why make a blue wine, they simply answer "and why not ? ", specifying all the same on the site Gik that the color blue was not chosen by chance. And psychology, blue refers to innovation, to movement and change.
A nocturnal wine
No one can be wrong about the target assumed by this crazy team : young people looking for an amazing drink that has no prejudices about wine. We may one day see this bottle enthroned next to Curaçao in student parties or in nightclubs.. The drink has an alcohol content of 11,5 and drinks fresh. The wine is already available on the website for 10 €.
Blue wine tries to rise from its ashes
In August 2016, the Basque start-up named Gïk had launched the production of its blue wine. Shortly after, she was banned by the Spanish administration from marketing her drink.
It was a common story for blue wine and yet the 5 young Spaniards at the origin of blue wine did not seem to be prepared for it. After a launch with great fanfare, relayed by the media and bloggers, the blue wine raised questions, the curious interest then the annoyance of observers. In August 2016, Gïk receives a visit from inspectors attached to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, of Fisheries and Food Industry. The blue wine is considered “irregular because it does not comply with standards established by the wine legislation in Spain.. ". The wine is then seized and the company receives a fine of 35’000€.
Blue wine is gone !
The blue color of this wine had to be an asset, but it quickly turned into a weakness for Gik. In fact, the inspectors' visit was motivated by a report drawn up by the Spanish wine industry.
To produce its blue wine, the company mixes white and red grape varieties, then add two pigments : indigo blue and anthocyanin, obtained by the skins of grapes used to produce wine. In sum, a wine obtained only with grapes. Yet, it would seem that it does not meet the color criteria and does not fit into the legislative framework. The product is no longer entitled to be called "blue wine", but falls into the category of "other alcoholic beverages". Now the composition of Gïk displays 99% wine and 1% grape must.
The case seems implausible, alcohol encounters less difficulty internationally than in one's own country. The wine produced by Gïk has managed to be exported to the United States and Japan.
I tested it for you…
Being curious by nature, I took my courage in both hands and ordered a case of three bottles of Gïk to test this little innovation. In just a few days, I pick up my precious package in a gym near my home. You might as well say that setting foot in a gym to collect wine was already a confusing experience, but it was not over !
After bringing together a few people to share this moment, I decide to pass the bottle to the Chiller - having forgotten to put it in the fridge before –. The color intrigued the assembly and the first negative opinions appeared : "This is not wine ! ".
Once the bottle is uncapped, we all religiously dip our noses in the glass. Although the color is disturbing, the aromas that emerge from the wine are rather pleasant. There is a certain freshness that emerges with notes of fresh fruit barely picked from the tree. This rather flattering nose makes you want to plunge your lips into it to finally know what it is…
… And it's really bad
This is when everything goes wrong ! While the nose is pleasant, the palate is largely disappointing. The tongue and taste buds quickly become mushy due to abnormal sweetness. We can already imagine the cellar master throwing kilos of sugar into the vat to erase the acidity of his wine.
Even worse, an unbearable indescribable taste is felt for long seconds. While any wine lover swears by the length, it was the first time that I regretted it. It feels like we're tasting chemistry, as if the aromas were not natural. You get the point, I don't wish this experience on anyone…
Blue wine, not so natural…
Doubts had been hovering for a long time. Students in Analytical Chemistry and Instrumentation from Toulouse III University analyzed Imajyne and Vindigo blue wines. They broke the secret of the so-called natural blue color…
Appeared in 2015, this amazing wine was innovative. Some of these blue wines boasted of being natural and the color obtained by a very particular winemaking process based on the anthocyanins present in the skin of the red grapes..
In the scientific journal European Food Research and Technology, they demonstrate through different analytical techniques that the blue color is obtained by adding E133. This food additive is a coloring agent used in particular in Curaçao.
Remember, I had shared in 2018 on the Beaux-Vins Facebook page an article from Sciences et Avenir : "Naturally" blue wine from Spain : a chemistry problem… and oenology. This article already explained that anthocyanins are red in color in wine, which is an acidic medium, and can only be blue in a basic environment.
The truth finally broke, the captivating color of blue wine comes simply from an added food coloring and not from an innovative winemaking process.
So there is no longer any mystery, the beautiful "natural" color of these blue wines comes from the addition of a synthetic colorant…
… Imajyne defends himself
The Corsican winegrower behind the blue wine “Imajyne” explains for his part that the researchers were wrong. According to him, It uses mineral salts, a component of E133.
"Students are one thing, but they can be wrong. We asked a recognized firm to analyze our wine, and we will make the results public as soon as we receive them. To show that the E133 doesn't appear anywhere. ".
They are now brandishing an analysis report that would prove otherwise.
This document calls into question the results of a scientific review.
"Everyone can see on this document the rates of colorings found in our wine. There are not any. So now, I would like all those who attacked us for days and days to show us the precise figures of the study which implicated us. That one, the analysis report, we are still waiting… "
Referring to a "patented process", its Wine-Based Flavored Drink would use 0,2 mg / l of mineral salts to stabilize the color obtained after "night harvest soaked in sea water and vinified with seaweed, marine yeasts and mineral salts'…
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