Kalimotxo

At first glance, combining red wine and cola sounds like sacrilege, but don't knock it until you try a Kalimotxo (sometimes written as it is pronounced, Calimocho). This easy-drinking combination originated in the 1920s, in the Old Port area of Algorta, a coastal town in the Basque region of Spain. The story is that organizers of a festival added cola to red wine in order to save several cases of wine that had gone bad and make them drinkable. The drink was a success, and has been enjoyed around the world since then. Kalimotxo is especially popular during the cocktail hour, paired with olives, cheese, and other snacks. You don't have to wait until you have a bottle of wine that has gone bad to make this at home; use an inexpensive red wine, something you would use for cooking. 

By

Chandra Ram

Chandra Ram

Chandra Ram leads the digital food strategy for Food & Wine. She has 15 years experience writing and editing food content and developing recipes. A former restaurant cook and server, she also writes cookbooks.

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Updated on August 2, 2023

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