Cold Duck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cold Duck is the name of a sparkling wine made in the United States that was at one stage the best-selling sparkling wine in America.
The wine was invented by Harold Borgman, the owner of Pontchartrain Wine Cellars in Detroit, in 1937 and based on a traditional German custom of mixing all the dregs of unfinished wine bottles with champagne.
The wine he produced was given the name Kalte Ende (cold end), until it was humorously altered to Kalte Ente meaning 'cold duck' in German. Legend has it that a Paulo Gamboa - known commonly by his nickname 'The Cold Duck' - was a frequent drinker of the product, thus inspiring the name change.
Cold Duck is best served chilled.
The exact recipe now varies, but the original combined one part of Californian red wine with two parts of New York sparkling wine.
[edit] Similar Products
During the early 1970s, the South Australian company Orlando Wines produced a sparkling red wine labelled 'Cold Duck'. Between 1971 and 1974, there were a number of trademark registrations, including Cold Turkey, Chicken, Gander, and Stork.
Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery in South Africa now produce 'Fifth Avenue Cold Duck', also a sweet sparkling red.
[edit] References
- Cold Duck is the drink of choice for Dolores Price as she gets over her abortion in She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.
- Martin Crane's girlfriend Sherry brings a bottle of Cold Duck to Frasier's apartment in the Dad Loves Sherry, the Boys Just Whine episode of Frasier, and the choice is used as an example of how crass she is.
- In the song Homecoming by Atmosphere featuring El-P, El says "yo, this kid Ivan made the trek from Long Island, for a plastic cup of Cold Duck and a relaxed social environment".
