Cold Duck is the name of a
sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...
made in the United States.
Origin
The recipe was based on a German legend involving
Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony (German: ''Clemens Wenzeslaus August Hubertus Franz Xaver von Sachsen'') (28 September 1739 – 27 July 1812) was a Saxon prince from the House of Wettin and the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1768 until 180 ...
ordering the mixing of
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
with unfinished bottles of wine. The drink, as it evolved in Germany, became standardized as one part wine from the
Mosel region, one part wine from the
Rheinhessen
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
region, and one part champagne, seasoned with
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
s and
balm mint
Lemon balm (''Melissa officinalis'') is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere.
It grows to a maximum height of . The l ...
.
The wine produced was given the name ''Kaltes Ende'' ("cold end" in German), until it was altered to the similar-sounding term ''Kalte Ente'' meaning "cold
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
".
Modern Cold Duck was invented in 1937 by Harold Borgman, the owner of Pontchartrain Wine Cellars in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He simultaneously poured champagne and sparkling
burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
into a hollow-stem wine glass.
Other wines
* In the US, the Michigan winery Bronte Champagnes and Wine was the first to bottle Cold Duck in the 1960s and 1970s. Bronte was sold to Tabor Hill Winery in 1984.
* During the early 1970s, the South Australian company
Orlando Wines
Orlando Wines is an Australian wine company, well known for Jacob's Creek wine, first released in 1976. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard since 1989 and is now known as Pernod Ricard Winemakers. The winery stil ...
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.
* In the early 1970s, Glenvale Vineyards and Montana Vineyards in New Zealand each produced wine under the name 'Cold Duck'.
*
Farmers' Winery in South Africa now produces 'Fifth Avenue Cold Duck', also a sweet sparkling red.
References
{{Reflist
External links
About Cold Duck
Sparkling wines