Why Mixing Red Wine with Cola Is a Really Good Idea
What do you do when you have to keep a festival full of thirsty people happy, and you’re stuck with two thousand liters of nasty wine? In the Basque Country, they came up with a creative solution: add cola, pour and party. That was the beginning of kalimotxo, a typical Basque mix that is still hugely popular.
Here’s the story: in 1972, a group of friends was responsible for providing the drinks at the Saint Nicholas Festival in Getxo, near Bilbao. They still had two thousand liters of spoiled red wine, and they would rather not pour it down the drain. A waste of money, and the budget was tight. What to do? They decided to mix the stuff one-to-one with Coca-Cola. Festivalgoers loved it (or they were simply very thirsty), and a new drink was born: Kalimotxo, pronounced: ka-li-MOT-cho.
Boxed wine
And kalimotxo is still a popular drink in northern Spain. Admittedly, especially on the beach, in pubs and in student houses. Of course, you use cheap wine for this; the Don Simon cartons on the bottom shelf of the supermarket are good enough. Although some experienced tasters opt for quality wine. Ryan Meliker, sommelier at the Ritz-Carlton in Denver, recommends a cheerful Rioja, while Nicky Beyries, bar manager at Laszlo in San Francisco, mixes in a grenache or a shiraz: wonderfully fruity.
Never heard of it
Kalimotxo is spreading around the world, because Basques ask for it when they are on vacation too. ‘I was working in a Belgian beer house in New York when someone ordered a kalimotxo from me,’ says Emily Saladino, editor-in-chief of wine magazine Wine Enthusiast. ‘Never heard of it. I said: we only have beer and wine, we don’t sell spirits. But the customer explained how I could make a kalimotxo for her. I immediately thought: that sounds good. A bit like Cherry Coke, but with alcohol! The other bartenders there absolutely disagreed with me.’
Only with the real thing
Is the Netherlands ready for kalimotxo? It’s not difficult to mix: half cola, half wine. And according to the experts, it absolutely has to be Coca-Cola. When Pepsi started selling their pre-mixed cola and red wine to beach bars a few years ago, they faced strong Spanish protests. No, no, it can only be called kalimotxo when it contains the real cola. Come on, put your prejudice aside and just taste it: less alcohol than an Aperol spritz or a gin and tonic, and in your memory you’ll be back on vacation in Bilbao and San Sebastian in no time.
Source: Matador Network
Read more:
- Dropped a glass of red wine? Here’s how to fix it
- These are the strangest drink requests sommeliers get, part two
- Coca-Cola launches 4 new signature flavors
