Spain Bans Blue Wine For Being The Wrong Color

Earlier this summer, a Spanish company made headlines for developing a bright-blue wine. But now, Spain has banned the "blue wine" on the grounds that wine is either white or red.

According to The Local, the blue wine, called Gik, debuted this summer, as a blend of several Spanish grape varieties. The most notable thing about it, of course, is its shockingly bright shade of blue. The owners of Gik say the color comes from indigo and anthyocyacin, a natural pigment that comes from grape skin.

Not long after the wine's debut, the company was hit with a fine for mislabeling its product as "wine" on the grounds that Spain recognizes 17 types of wine products, none of which are blue.

Now the blue drink is being forced to be marketed in the "other alcoholic drinks" category. The label also had to be changed to read: "99 percent wine and 1 percent grape must."

The creators of Gik say the ruling is absurd and that they should be able to call their product "wine" because it is made entirely from grapes. Regulators disagree, however, and Gik will no longer be shelved with the wine. It'll still be pretty easy for consumers to find, though. That blue bottle is a pretty distinctive color.