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Wine is ‘Untouched by Light’

Slovenian wine producer ‘turns to the dark side,’ producing and packaging a wine in total darkness in a black bottle and vacuum film, to eliminate off-flavors resulting from exposure to light.

Untouched by Light
New sparkling wine Untouched by Light is packaged in a black bottle with in a black vacuum pack bag.


Harvested, aged, and packaged in the dark, a new sparkling wine from Slovenian wine producer Radgonske gorice is made using what the wine producer is calling the “Crafted in Darkness” method to eliminate the light-struck aromas, or off-flavors, that result from exposure to daylight or artificial lighting.

Klavdija Topolovec Špur, Enologist for Radgonske goriceKlavdija Topolovec Špur, Enologist for Radgonske goriceAccording to Klavdija Topolovec Špur, Enologist—or winemaking specialist—for Radgonske gorice, the idea for the unique wine product was suggested by the winery’s creative agency, Bruketa&Žinić&Grey, after Radgonske gorice turned to them for a new label design. “During the process of their research, they came across Ann C. Noble’s sensory study of the effect of fluorescent light on a sparkling wine and its base wine in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, says Topolovec Špur. “This was an insight that led them to the idea of a completely new sparkling wine, Untouched by Light. We liked their idea and decided to make it happen.”

According to Noble’s research, when wine is exposed to daylight or artificial lighting, the intensity of the wine’s citrus aromas decreases, while the intensity of “cooked cabbage or wet dog aromas” increases. 

Untouched by Light harvestingThe Chardonnay grapes for Untouched by Light are harvested in the dark.To ensure its new sparkling wine, Untouched by Light, remains in absolute darkness throughout the production process, Radgonske gorice picks the Chardonnay grapes for the wine in the dark—“on moonless nights,” it adds—handles the wine in conditions void of light, with workers wearing night vision goggles, and matures the wine for up to three years in dark cellars hidden in the caves of Gornja Radgona, Slovenia. Packaging for the wine consists of a black bottle vacuum-packed in a black bag.

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