The New True Blue Wine
These student entrepreneurs picked the most traditional consumable of all: wine. In fact it’s the first of it’s kind.- blue wine…
The New True Blue Wine
5 years ago, a group of college students in Spain dedicated their time and talent to make sure they turned the food and beverage industry on its head, so 5 student entrepreneurs named Imanol, Inigo, Gorka, Aritz and Taig picked the most traditional consumable of all: wine. Putting a twist on tradition, their consumable product is the first of its kind, blue wine!
Photo: Today.com
After two years of research at the University of the Basque Country with the help of in-house, professional chemical engineers and an outside centre for food innovation, they launched their company, Gik Live! In 2015, with a record sale of 30,000 bottles in its first year and nearly 500,000 this past year, Gik Live! exports to 21 countries (the United States being its main market & France its second) all with a company of only 12 employees. Electric blue in colour, the wine is made of mainly white wine with a small amount of red and a tiny bit of freshly-crushed grape juice. The innovative Gik Blue is made in several wineries in Spain following the traditional winemaking process and can be found online and in a few restaurants in Spain. While Gik Live used to use sugar substitutes, the company has stated that it has added dessert wine instead to finish the controversial product off with a sweet taste.
Prices online range roughly from $13 to $15 a bottle
Photo: Gik.blue
Reaction to the blue wine has been mixed: "Not bad" was the verdict of the former head sommelier at the Paris Ritz. In Europe, the company has had to label Gik Blue an "alcoholic drink" as authorities have ruled it isn't wine due to its blue hue, but if you happen to purchase it in the United States, it will be labeled as wine.
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Victorious Vino
France, known as the wine capital of the world, will now have to work to regain the top spot, according to a study released by the Spanish Observatory of Wine Markets. Spain now holds the title of the largest wine exporter in the world with 22.8 million hectolitres of sales in 2017...
Victorious Vino
France, once known as the wine capital of the world, will now have to work to regain the top spot, according to a study released by the Spanish Observatory of Wine Markets. Spain now holds the title of the largest wine exporter in the world with 22.8 million hectolitres of sales in 2017.
To be fair, its closest competitors, Italy with 21 million hectolitres & France with 15 million hectolitres are hot on the trail. As far as revenue is concerned, France still claims the lead with €9,000 million (followed by Italy with €6,000 million and Spain with €2,850 million).
This can be explained by the fact that Spain sells its produce very cheaply at 1.25 per liter, compared to France's €6 per litre & Italy's €2.78 which makes it the cheapest of all major wine exporters in the world. In fact, France is the biggest buyer of Spanish wines, purchasing it in bulk then re-bottling it and selling it on at a higher price as ‘vin table’.
The main challenge facing Spain is reducing the sale of cheap, mass-produced wine, which is flooding the market despite a lack of internal structures to deal with its distribution. Spanish wine enthusiasts are hopeful, pointing to the fact that in 2017 Spanish exports grew by 2.5% in volume and 7.6% in turnover, due to a price increase of 5% as well as the increased demand for Spanish wine in China, which ranks as Spain’s 5th largest wine market.
We hope you've enjoyed learning about how Spain is creating the Victorious Vino! Planning on taking part in the most exported wine in the world in it's native country? Our team of native instructors and culturally infused classes will not only ensure that you advance your fluency, but that you will be able to understand and enjoy all that Spain has to offer!