Comments on: Red wine and Coke — notes from China and Spain

By: Petri

Petri — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:03:34 +0000

Red wine was mixed with coke far before China started to drink imported wines…
As said above, it is famous in Spain as Kalimoxo and South America.
I also heard stories or retail builders mixing red wine in their 1 liter Coke bottles so they could keep on drinking during work.
As for the drink, the cheapest red makes the best Kalimoxo. In a longdrink glass of 3dl, fill with icecubes, pour one third of red wine and the rest with Coke. To be drunk outside when it’s really hot.
And sorry for Jim Boyce but I leave in Beijing since 2007 and drink Kalimoxo here

By: Mervin Carmichael

Mervin Carmichael — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:54:39 +0000

I’ve been drinking red wine & coke my entire life.The cheaper red wine mix with cola in my opinion is much nicer than an expensive wine.In my country – Swaziland in Africa we call it a Katemba which is famous right thruogh southern africa , Mozambique , Angola & even the northern regions.We are very fortunate to have award winning wines from South Africa aswell as many other international wines and therefore our pallates are quite well tuned to what is good or bad wine , but certainly every household holds THE KATEMBA very dear to their hearts.It’s the kind of drink that brings people of all walks of life togeather in an amazingly happy way.Viva la vida , Viva la Katemba!!!!

By: Flamme special: Beaujolais Nouveau and Coke at RMB13 per glass | Grape Wall of China

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:25:19 +0000

[...] though: 1) such mixology can make some of the crappier vino more palatable and 2) such a combo is imbibed about the world. If you haven’t tried it, and would like to, Flamme in Sanlitun Village, has a superb deal on [...]

By: Flamme special: Beaujolais Nouveau and Coke at RMB13 per glass | Beijing Boyce

Wed, 11 May 2011 09:32:26 +0000

By: Leon Ponder

Leon Ponder — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:03:36 +0000

I haven’t been to China but you can find this cola and wine mix in south western Germany. There this drink exists here since about two decades and its called “korea”.

By: chris robinson

chris robinson — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:27:30 +0000

This was and still is utter nonsense. Like Jim I have never ever seen any signs of mixing of soft drinks with quality wine. However back in the 90′s the primary market for wine, believe it or night, was young office workers who were celebrating abirthday or other communal event. They liked to add ice and lemonade to cheap wines like Dynasty and Great Wall to create that auspicious red colour and to make wine palatable.

By: Warren

Warren — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:38:52 +0000

I grew up in Africa and used to spend time n Mocambique. Cheap red wine was commonly mixed with coke, probably for two reasons. The wine was pretty average and the climate was hot so not well suited to red wine. The coke was chilled and the result, called “katemba” was really quite refreshing after a long day in the hot sun.

By: Juice

Juice — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:33:40 +0000

It’s true Italians do love to mix wine with 7up, but from where I was sitting, the reasoning is because most of the wine older generations of Italians would drink was homemade. and homemade wine was almost always very strong and not very good, so if you wanted to drink your wine and not waste it (we don’t like to waste very much) adding a little 7up to soften it was a god send. And yes its also true that this was the gateway for us to get into the wine tradition. I rememeber sipping on wine and 7up when I was a young boy and my grandfather pouring in a few extra drops when no one was looking to enhance my experience. Great times!

By: Amy Atwood

Amy Atwood — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:00:58 +0000

yes, I have seen many , especially older generation, Greeks and Italians mix sprite with table wine. and many of my southern European friends grew up having wine/sprite mix as their first sanctioned taste of wine at the table

By: Noah

Noah — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:15:17 +0000

Interesting topic.

Though I’ve never been to China, I have a couple of Chinese friends who do mix red wine and coke. And sometimes red wine and sprite. They say it’s an acquired taste.

By: svini

svini — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:13:45 +0000

Hey there! This is a great read! I have never mixed wine with anything – I had no idea anything should/could be mixed (with the exception of Sangria) with wine. I’ve noticed you haven’t written anything about icewine. I recently tried it out and fell in love with it! So much so, that I even wrote a blog on it http://www.svinispicks.com/2010/12/warm-up-your-winter-with-ice-wine.html

What do you feel about ice wine? Would you pass it up as another dessert wine?

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:59:08 +0000

I have heard this is an italian tradition as well. I have tried it and the coke with red wine does not taste that bad. However, I still prefer my wine on its own.

By: Robbie C.

Robbie C. — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:36:26 +0000

I live in a smaller city in China…when you order a bottle of wine here (only terrible Chinese wine available) it usually comes to the table with a can of Sprite, and a pitcher of ice if you’re lucky.
As I mentioned, there isn’t really any good wine available around here. I’ve seen people mix Chinese wine with sprite in Shanghai and Beijing, but I’ve never seen this done with foreign wine.
Any foreign wine is considered a luxury item…I saw a bottle of Liebfraumilch for sale last week in Xian for around 150RMB (about $20 USD) So I’d say it’s probably very unlikely that people are mixing anything good with soda these days.

By: imobiliarias alegrete

imobiliarias alegrete — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:38:58 +0000

But, the usual practice is to down it in one go.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:12:08 +0000

I discovered the Kalimotxo about two years ago and love it. I tend to use box wine when mixing it though…