A Corsican man who has revived an old type of Corsican wine is aiming to “reclaim” the drink’s place in history as the original inspiration for iconic American brand Coca-Cola.
The story, as reported and investigated by Le Figaro, says that the drink - now known as ‘Coca Mariani’ - was first invented in 1863 by the Corsican apothecary Angelo Mariani in Bastia. It is based on wine and the coca leaf, and was reputed to have medicinal benefits.
Based in Paris in his laboratory at 41 Boulevard Haussmann, Mr Mariani built an empire making a profit of 6,000 francs the first year, 12,000 in the second, and 24,000 in the third.
Now, 46-year-old Christophe Mariani (surprisingly unrelated to Angelo Mariani) who is from Ajaccio and relaunched the drink in 2014, is fighting to get recognition for the beverage as the original inspiration behind a rather more famous cola.
Pemberton’s ‘better blend’
The first link between Coca Mariani and Coca-Cola reportedly came from John Pemberton, a pharmacist who sold ‘Pemberton's French Wine Coca’ in the US in 1886. But when a law on alcohol prohibition forced him to remove wine from the formula, he replaced it with soda and sugar syrup, and named the new drink Coca-Cola.
An article published in an Atlanta newspaper on March 10, 1885 appears to confirm that Mr Pemberton copied the original Mr Mariani, reports Le Figaro.
In an interview by an American journalist, Mr Pemberton stated his inspiration, but claimed that he had created a “better blend” than that in Mr Mariani’s wine. He also highlighted the medicinal benefits of the drink.
Back in France, Mr Mariani was getting major publicity for his drink by winning over celebrities of the day by offering his bottles to heads of state, generals, clergymen and stars.
Many sent him letters of thanks and dedications which the ever-enterprising Mr Mariani later used as an advertising tool, publishing the missives in the form of booklets in Le Figaro.
Fans included Pope Benedict XV, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Marshals Foch and Pétain, tennis player Suzanne Lenglen amongst others.
Before World War One, Mr Mariani was selling 10 million bottles a year.
After the war, however, it fell out of fashion and became forgotten, as its later inspiration boomed across the Atlantic.
Modern court case
Now, another Mr Mariani, a restaurateur in Ajaccio, is fighting for recognition for the drink after reviving it, with support from the remaining heirs of the original Mariani family.
“I realised that there was this historic product and I researched to see if there were any descendants,” said Mr Mariani to Le Figaro. “The brand had fallen into the public domain. I found a book about Angelo Mariani and got in touch with the author, who put me in touch with the two descendants who gave me their consent.
“My product is made from de-cocainised coca leaf. It is a coca wine just like the original,” he said.
Yet, US giant Coca-Cola took the restaurateur to court after he attempted to register ‘Coca Mariani’ as a trademark in Europe in 2021, disputing his use of the word ‘coca’.
Mr Mariani was unable to fight against the corporation but is still using the name ‘Coca Mariani’ in France believing that he has the right to do so as a result of the drink’s Corsican heritage.
"Today, there are no more legal proceedings. They attacked at European level, but not in France. I am here to defend a heritage. The word ‘coca’ belongs to the plant. It does not belong to Coca-Cola. Especially as I can prove that Mariani wine existed before Coca-Cola. But I do not wish to get involved in a legal battle,” he said.
Mr Mariani believes his claim has also been strengthened by the finding last year of a bottle of Mariani wine dating from 1880 in a private collection in Castagniccia, a rural region of Haute-Corse.
"This bottle contains the formula copied by Mr Pemberton,” said Mr Mariani. “It proves once and for all that Mariani wine existed 25 years before Coca-Cola.”
French scientific support
Mr Mariani has supporters in France. The national French research centre le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) is currently studying the composition of the bottle. It has found that it is “close to what Pemberton was able to experiment with when he was in France”.
“It is a fact that Mariani wine was behind the creation of Coca-Cola. Given the production dates of the two brands there is no doubt about it,” states Bruno Figadère, director of research at the CNRS-Université Paris Saclay, to Le Figaro.
Mr Figadère is now helping Mr Mariani with his new project, an appeal for equity funding, which would help the Corsican to develop an alcohol-free product made from coca leaf and kola nuts.
“We think we can try to recover an extract from this famous bottle,” he said. “We are also looking for the residual level of cocaine in the bottle. Most of the chemicals in modern pharmacy come from natural substances used historically. Mariani wine had medicinal properties.”
Eric Konofal, a paediatric doctor who specialises in sleep disorders at the Robert Debré Hospital, is also interested in the composition of Mariani wine from a scientific point of view.
“Mariani wine used to be given to hyperactive children,” he said. “It was also used to treat alcoholism and was praised by a lot of people at the time. It was a protector against drug and substance abuse.
“The first person to experiment with it was Mr Pemberton who was a morphine addict. Eventually he took out the alcohol and it became Coca-Cola,” Dr Konofal said.
He plans to write an article in an American scientific journal, the aim of highlighting the benefits of historical tonic medications:
“The coca leaf is not cocaine,” he said. “We need to put the original recipe back on the market. Coca-Cola, in its early days, was also famous for being used as a medicinal treatment.”
Bolivian interest
Mr Mariani’s project has also attracted interest from the Bolivian government, as coca leaves are a major product of the country. Mr Mariani has even met former Bolivian president Evo Morales to discuss the possibility of marketing the country’s coca leaf internationally.
Mr Mariani’s aim is to “promote a Corsican that has made a French product,” he said. “I produce 30,000 bottles a year and I am out of stock the demand is so high. It has been 10 years since I relaunched the brand and I am not giving up…it is important to rehabilitate [Angelo] Mariani’s work.
“There is still much to discover about Mariani wine,” he said.
Descendant memories
One of Angelo’s descendants, Marie-Ange Mariani, now aged 82, said that the new project has brought back memories.
“When Christophe came to see me about his project, it brought back a lot of memories…I'm proud to see that the Mariani wine continues. Angelo deserves our interest in this crazy story.”
Le Figaro says that the Coca-Cola Company once stated on its Belgium-Luxembourg website that its drink had been inspired by Mariani wine but this disappeared from the site later with no further mention.
The newspaper also states that Coca-Cola did not respond to its requests for an explanation of this change.
