Spanish blue wine Skyfall outlines its premium ambitions

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 13 July, 2017

The brains behind Skyfall, the newest face of the blue wine craze to be launched in the UK, are hoping that their product will soon be drank in the nation’s swanky bars as a premium tipple.

Having launched over the past few weeks, Skyfall’s backers are now setting out to prove the product, which originally launched in Spain, in the UK’s highly competitive on-trade.

Made in prime Cava country, Sant Sadurni d’Anoia near Barcelona, the wine is a Cava in everything but name.

The reason for this is that by its very nature, Cava can’t be blue.

The blue colour in fact comes from a combination of natural flower and fruit extracts are added to bring the “sky” colour to the liquid.

Director of Skyfall’s UK distribution, David Arbery, is keen to stress that Skyfall has the chops to back up its premium price point, which sits somewhere between £10 and £12 per glass.

“We have to be careful about how we position it and what we call it,” he said.

“But it’s a three-year old gran reserva and it has a two cork rounds, whereas even high end Champagne only has one. The bottle is also a Cava bottle, and its dark so you can’t see the blue colour until you pour it. It’s costs more to do things this way, but we wanted it to be very luxurious, subtle and premium.”

Blue wine has been seen by turns as a gimmick and a creative rebellion to traditional wine mores since it first garnered attention in 2015 when six entrepreneurs in their twenties invented Gik, a bright blue wine also from Spain, made with red and white grapes.

Gik has since been made available to UK customers online, but the on-trade has yet to be penetrated by any such brand.

In terms of gimmickry, Arbery would say that a gimmick is over quickly, but Skyfall represents a long-term investment for him and his brother Chris.

With equal parts novelty and quality, the brothers see it sitting alongside Prosecco, Cava and even Champagne in UK bars.

“The lengths we’ve taken to make this a premium product is what sets it apart,” said Arbery, a family friend of the producers who has dedicated 18 months to bringing their creation to the UK market.

“Yes its blue, but it’s not intended to be a limited run. It’s something we’re investing heavily in and are in talks with bars in London and Bristol who have really been impressed by its quality. There’s so much we can do with festivals, weddings and events. We want to be here long-term.”

Blue-sky thinking, perhaps?

With the rise of sparkling and consumers looking for something new and different, perhaps not.

Skyfall is a blend of Macabeu, Parellada, Xarel·lo and Chardonnay grapes and is a naturally sparkling blue aromatised wine.

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