Blue wine: the terrace trend of 2016?

A new trend has swept over from Spain into the wine world: blue wine, pure and natural. Although opinions are divided and the wine is initially compared to sports drinks or windshield washer fluid, speculation is circulating as to whether this will become the terrace trend of 2016.

Various hospitality experts are tipping blue wine as the new terrace trend for the upcoming summer. It looks spectacular, is all-natural, and the wine tastes good.

Experiences
Entrepreneur Remco Moll, owner of Grand Café 7080 in Almere: “Everyone is talking about it.” He mentions that 15% of the wine he currently sells consists of the trendy blue variant.

Importer Vincent Janssen of wine merchant Wijny says that the drink in question, known as ‘Passion Blue Chardonnay’, has been flying out the door by the pallet load in recent weeks. Beach bars, cafes, and even wellness centers are placing orders. “We had to get used to the idea too, but that color turns out to be a real added value for people. It just looks cool. And the wine is good, too.”

Surprise
Importer Janssen explains that the blue wine plays tricks on the brain. “It throws you off guard. You expect it to be sickly sweet, because it looks more like a sports drink than wine. But then you taste it and you get a dry Chardonnay, very aromatic. That surprise works.”

The color is created by mixing white and blue grapes. A natural dye from the skin of blue grapes, anthocyanin, causes the white wine to transform into blue. Anthocyanin is therefore a natural dye and also gives red cabbage, for example, its specific purplish-red color. “Purely natural, then. We do have to explain that to everyone. It is nothing chemical,” says Janssen.

Trend?
In Spain, blue wine is already an emerging hit; there are now two Spanish brands available that want to establish themselves on the Dutch market: Gïk and the Blue Passion Chardonnay. Whether it will actually become a hit on Dutch terraces remains to be seen.

According to Remco Moll, it is primarily the ‘hip over-25s’ who are keen on the blue wine. “They are curious, they dare to try. The question now is whether they will keep ordering it, or whether it turns out to be a gimmick that we will have forgotten about next year. Only time will tell.”

Via Het Parool and DvhN
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