Enjoy the New Year with easy DIY wine cOXtails

It's Chinese New Year, you've sipped and savored a few good bottles, now it's time to crush a bunch of wine cocktail-style.

Here are a few DIY options on top of the mulled wine from way back in November last year.

A lot of people make fun of mixing cola and red wine -- often the very same people who combine Coke and whisky or who put sugar and milk in their tea -- but this is a common drink, especially in Spain.

Today known in Spain as Kalimotxo (Calimocho), this century-old drink is simple: add one part cola to one part wine -- a bottle of each will do -- then rock gently with ice and serve.

You can garnish with a few orange or lime wedges. You can also add your own twists, like a touch of vanilla syrup or coffee liqueur, though the original recipe works just fine. Try an inexpensive wine such as Chamanto Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. 

Fun story. Some say the word Kalimotxo is from a 1970s Spanish festival when cola was used to cover the flavor of some subpar wine and became a big hit, based on one of the festival organizers named Kalimero (Kali) and, because he was far from handsome, the Basque word for ugly. Ugly Kali. We all get remembered for something.

Another easy mixer: white wine spritzers. Fill half an ice-filled glass with chilled white wine--try a fruity Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc--then top with plain or lemon-flavored soda water to your liking. Add a slice of lime, then guzzle.

You can play around with different grape varieties, flavored sodas (try peach) and garnishes, everything from orange wedges to cucumber slices to rosemary sprigs.