Question: Is it true that people in China mix wine with Sprite?
Answer: Yes.
I have witnessed hundreds of people indulge in this practice that raises the wrath of the wine-loving world. Ironically, most imbibers are foreigners and the smoking gun, so to speak, is none other than… the Champagne cocktail.
Ironic, isn’t it?
Frankly, I have not witnessed Chinese mix Sprite with an ’82 Latour or any other such vintage wine though I am sure this and other vinological atrocities have occurred. (And they make for good copy, as Business Week , The New York Times, Decanter and other media show.) It more likely happens with cheap local wine, the labels most foreigners wouldn’t even stoop to use for the Sangria they brew here. (Aha! Mixing wine and fruit, are we?).
People worldwide mix wine with plenty of things. It’s a pity if vintage wine is despoiled, but when it comes to most local grog, a dash of bubbly (variety: soda) doesn’t hurt. Just something to mull over while enjoying a perfectly good cup of Chinese tea… mixed with sugar and milk.
I’ve noticed this quite often but it’s always been used by people who didn’t like to drink but custom dictated they should. It’s always been explained to me that as the “opposition” of real drinkers imbibes more and more and notice less and less – they accordingly add more and more sprite to the point where it’s just a splash of alcohol in each glass. Sprite is chosen not for flavor purposes but because of it’s clear color, which allows the color of the alcohol to dominate and thus appear to be the normal drink from first glance.
This is an especially useful tactic for office birthdays. In which it would not be uncommon to toast multiple times at a celebratory lunch and one is hoping of some chance to return to the office sober and not have to sleep one off at the desk and fall behind in work.