Red wine and Coke? The surprising wine mixers that really work

Ice cubes in wine? Lemonade with Rioja? Our wine expert Joe Fattorini reveals the unexpected combinations worth trying this summer.

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By Joe Fattorini | Published - 17 Jul 2026

Wine experts get asked three questions all the time. What’s the most expensive wine you’ve ever drunk? What’s the oldest wine you’ve ever drunk? And am I terrible for putting fizzy water/ice cubes/lemonade/Coca-Cola in my wine?

The answer to the first two questions is 1791 Vin de Constance and it costs (today) £30,000 for a half bottle. The answer to the third is absolutely not. So long as you don’t do it with a £30,000 half-bottle of 1791 Vin de Constance.

I was never much sold on the idea of the Aperol spritz. I’ve always preferred the white wine spritzer. On a hot day, open a bottle of El Sabio Pinot Grigio 2024 (9%, RRP £10) and add a splash of Sanpellegrino and even some ice and you’ve got one of wine’s simple pleasures. Not to mention a net alcohol of about 5%, so you can enjoy the pleasure for longer.

Wine mixers have quite a heritage. Romans added all sorts to wine, including grated cheese. But they were particularly taken with adding seawater for its mineral tang. Not everyone was a fan. Pliny the Elder described the practice happening on the Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes but said he preferred his wine as it was.

The mentioned wines on a light blue background — Stockists

But perhaps Pliny just hadn’t found the right mixer. My favourite combo is Tinto de Verano. This is a Spanish mix of red wine and lemonade. Take a soft and fruity red like Campaneo Old Vines Garnacha (12.5%, RRP £6.75), then mix it 50/50 with lemonade, a lot of ice, and add a slice of orange.

Try not to use a sweet lemonade, rather Sanpellegrino Limonata or a mix of Sprite and soda water. I was introduced to it by an East End gangster on the Spanish Costas and have never looked back. Even if I have, on occasion, looked over my shoulder.

In the north of Spain, the mixer of choice is Coca-Cola. And yes, I am going to recommend mixing red wine with Coca-Cola. Although it sounds better if you call it a Kalimotxo. Or Calimocho. Or Rioja Libre. Which gives you an idea of the best wine to use – such as Palacio de Primavera Tinto (13%, RRP £10), a bright, fruity, and simple Rioja that you mix 50/50 with Coke over ice.

Indeed, the best reds for mixing with lemonade or Coke tend to be Iberian. For either, I particularly like Bando de Corvos ‘Murder of Crows’ Tinto, Lisboa 2024 (13.5%, RRP £7.75), a juicy, plump, mellow red at an extraordinary price.

And what about rosé? This is where you can go a bit… ‘Montecito’. Last summer, I was given a rosé cocktail with lemonade, a splash of soda water, some berries and ‘edible flowers’. It was refreshing, utterly beautiful and quite worthy of our former royals now resident in California.

Try it with Jardin de Roses Languedoc Rosé (12.5%, RRP £10.50) if you like something crisp and zesty. Or with Amatista Moscato Rosé NV (5%, RRP £6.99) for something floral and off-dry if you’ve a sweeter tooth. For the ultimate twist, freeze the berries first.

With ideas like this, I might get my own Netflix series.

Written by: Joe Fattorini

Joe Fattorini is a British radio and television presenter, wine expert and sommelier. He's known to millions around the world as “Obi Wine Kenobi” the expert presenter on The Wine Show.

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