Background:
There’s red wine, white wine, even pink wine. But now thanks to six young
Spanish entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the University of the Basque
Country and Azti Tecnalia (the food research department of the Basque
Government), blue wine—which targets millennial drinkers—is about to hit European markets.

Created by Iñigo Alday, Imanol López, Jen Besga, Gorka Maiztegi, Aritz López,
and Taig Mac Marthy in Spain's Basque region, Gik — which fits into the chilled,
sweet white wine category — is made from an undisclosed blend of red and
white grapes predominantly sourced from vineyards in La Rioja, Zaragoza, León
(all located about three hours north of Madrid), and Castilla-La Mancha
(about two hours south of Madrid). The 11.5 percent ABV juice is hued neon
blue with anthocyanin (a pigment found in grape skin) and indigo (a
dye extracted from the Isatis tinctoria plant), and a non-caloric sweetener is added as well.

A 750ml bottle

After two years of research and development, Gik soft launched last year in Spain
when the wine was sold via the company’s website.
But in the next couple of months, Gik will expand retail sales to France,
the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany.
And after that, founders are eyeing the U.S.

Co-founder Aritz López explains that neither he nor his partners had prior
winemaking experience, but that they "wanted to create something really innovative."
The team collectively felt that Spain’s wine industry was "missing a little revolution.
" He continues, "We were raised in a country with a strong wine culture,
but wine has always been a beverage put on a pedestal. So we thought about
how it would be to have real people making wine for real people, not a wine
made by experts to pseudo-connoisseurs."

The blue inspiration came from Blue Ocean Strategy, a book written by
W. Chan Kim, a Korean-born business theorist. "He tells about red oceans in his book,
representing business markets saturated by specialists (sharks) who fight for
the same variables and for a reduced number of clients (fish), and end up in
water turned red. And how it’s necessary to revert this, by innovating and
creating new variables, back to blue. This seemed poetic for us to turn a
traditionally red beverage into a blue one," López states.

According to him, blue also represents "movement, innovation, fluidity, change,
and infinity."  Ultimately, he and partners are looking to tap into a new
generation of imbibers who seek a unique  wine experience. 

While many wineries provide tech sheets (that list varietal details, tasting notes,
and vineyard specifics) to accompany bottles, Gik’s founders went in another direction.

On their website, they explain the lack of tech sheet:
We do not believe in wine tasting rules and we don’t think that anybody should
need to study the bible of enology to enjoy a glass of wine. That is why we made
an anti-technical sheet.

Suggested pairings with the sweet blue wine include sushi, nachos with guacamole,
pasta carbonara, and smoked salmon, in addition to music by James Blake, Alt J, and Minus the Bear.


西班牙 Gik 公司研發出獨特的藍酒，色澤如藍寶石般漂亮。

標籤: 葡萄酒, 藍色, 西班牙

葡萄酒除了紅色、白色和桃紅色之外，有沒有其他的選擇？
西班牙一家初創公司最近就推出一款全球首創的純天然藍
色葡萄酒，其顏色比天空還藍，讓人們能享受飲酒之外的新鮮感。

這家 Gik 公司由 6 個 20 幾歲的年輕人共同創立，他們與西班牙巴斯克大學（University
of the Basque Country）等機構的科學家合作，經兩年的時間研發出這款與眾不同的藍
酒。

這款酒取材自西班牙各地葡萄園的紅葡萄和白葡萄。而其藍寶石般的藍色則源自於葡萄皮
中的天然色素花青素，以及從菘藍這種植物中萃取的靛藍色素。

至於 Gik 公司為何選擇製造藍酒？該公司共同創始人之一洛佩茲（Aritz Lopez）表示，
這個靈感來自於韓國學者金偉燦（W. Chan Kim）的著作《藍海策略》（Blue Ocean
Strategy）。

洛佩茲說，作者在本書中提到，紅海代表充斥專家（鯊魚）的商業市場，這些專家為了相
同的可變因素和日益減少的客戶（魚）而廝殺，最終使海水變紅。這有需要藉由創新與創
造新的可變因素來恢復至藍海。因此，他們將傳統的紅酒變成了藍酒。

有趣的是，Gik 公司的人都沒有製酒的真正專業，但他們希望創造真正具有創意的東西，
因為西班牙的製酒業「缺少了一點創新」。

該公司網站並未透露這種藍酒的味道如何，只是建議人們 "忘掉腦海中對酒的偏見和標準"。
不過，這款酒應該是一種甜酒，因為它添加了無熱量的糖精。

這款藍酒目前可在西班牙、英國、法國、荷蘭和德國上網訂購，每瓶售價約11美元，但美國還買不到。

**資料來源:【大紀元2016年06月23日訊】（大紀元記者陳俊村編譯報導）

Gik Live! vino azul - Telecinco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxek9U-erWU