07/22/2013
Written by Michela Marchi
It seems that the French are no longer the good-time drinkers they used to be, and that in recent years the number of Bacchus connoisseurs has withered away like grapes left in the sun too long...
The glorious days of the postwar period, when, in the common imagination, every self-respecting Frenchman spent the entire day with a glass of red wine in his hand, are now a distant memory: only 17 percent say they drink a nice glass of wine every day, while as many as 38 percent say they don't drink at all. PerBacco! So what are producers doing to run for cover and plug this debacle? Simple: they add cola to wine. A stunt fruit, perhaps, of that, still too vivid if hazy, memory of the 2001/2002 Erasmus in Vigo... In short, the fact is this: the Hausmann Famille, a branch of Châteaux en Bordeaux, is preparing to launch (next month, we're safe for a few more weeks) Rouge Sucette, literally "red lollipop," a dubious-tasting drink composed of red wine and cola. For best performance, serve cold. Price to the public: 2 euros and 30 cents, less than Coke perhaps. The hope is to "entice the "Coca cola generation" to the joys of grapes," the company lets us know. The "Coca cola generation" was sorely lacking, as was this innovative taste education strategy...Fortunately, someone else thinks as I do, and Nicolas Clerc, Frenchman in charge of London's Old Bengal Warehouse suspects a Machiavellian maneuver to conquer Asian markets: "Where sweet wines are very popular. But it's also possible that Rouge Sucette will achieve some success even in France, perhaps in supermarkets." Where teenagers are likely to go for it. Now, I understand that maybe in the summer we don't all really crave "important" wines (although a chilled Nebbiolo might surprise you greatly)...but isn't a good old spritz better?
Source: indipendent.co.uk
