FOR THE RECORD, I’ve never seen anyone mix red wine and Coke. But I’m told its fashionable in Spain, where it’s called Calimocho, and in parts of China. The nearest I’ve come to it was when one of my cousins in New Zealand poured lemonade into his white wine because he enjoyed a long drink. The fact that his son-in-law was a winemaker and had made the wine in question didn’t seem to worry him. And why should it? At times even the most committed oenophile will admit that all they want is a mixed drink that both refreshes and provides a little kick of sweetness.

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