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May 29, 2009

It was the staple drink of 1970s dinner parties until the next generation of drinkers decided it was naff and dated. But now Blue Nun is back – with a twist.

The brand is launching a sparkling white wine that contains 22-carat gold flakes in an effort to appeal to a more upmarket audience.

Gold Blue Nun Blue Nun's new gold wine will go on sale in the summer

The wine, which will be on the shelves by the end of summer, is expected to appeal to young women in particular.

"The trend that we are tapping into in this economic climate is 'affordable rewards'," a spokeswoman for Blue Nun said. "Blue Nun Gold is a quirky form of affordable treat that should appeal to women wanting to try something new."

In the last 20 years Blue Nun's fans have become an elusive bunch. Famous exceptions include Victoria Beckham, who is said to rate the wine as one of her favourite drinks, and Steve Coogan's comic creation Alan Partridge.

The company already sells a range of different wines including an organic wine and a rosé.

The original Blue Nun wine was a Liebfraumilch and labelled with the image of a nun, although due to a mistake by the printer the label was printed in blue, not brown. This gave the wine its name.

By the 1970s, Blue Nun was the biggest selling wine brand in the UK with sales of around 3.5m bottles a year. But during the 1980s consumer tastes in both wine and fashions changed. Heavily oaked New World chardonnay became the wine of choice and by the close of the 80s, sales of Blue Nun had fallen to around 500,000 bottles each year.

Blue Nun Gold is expected to retail at £7.99 and will have an alcohol content of 11%.