COLA-FLAVORED FRENCH WINE . . .

SACRE BLEU!  CAN IT BE POSSIBLE?  The French are making a wine blended with . . . cola?  Sad but true.  In a major break with tradition, Rouge Sucette (French for red lollipop), is made from 75 percent grapes with water, sugar and cola flavoring making up the remainder.  Sure to horrify wine lovers, it is designed to appeal to Millennials.  Winemakers fear that young people who drink spirits and mixers will be difficult to attract if they do not adapt to their sweet palate.  The 9 percent ABV blend is part of a new range by Aquitaine-based firm Haussmann Famille.  They also make fruity passion fruit and grapefruit blends.  The packaging has a label in the shape of lollipop.  Despite having a reputation for their snobbish attitude to wine, the French themselves have actually embraced flavored wines, drinking a predicted 3O million bottles in 2O13.  Cola wine could also be a big hit in Britain, as sugar consumption has increased by 31 percent since 199O, with the average person consuming 7OOg of sugar a week.  Yeah, that’s super healthy.