Cold Duck
The Holidays are once again upon us again and for so many of us, the memories of Thanksgivings, Christmases, and New Years cross our minds. As the old familiar songs play in the background, the winter chill whips though us and nearby homes are illuminated in their holiday glory, some of us may even remember a certain spirit from the past called Cold Duck. You might look back on it fondly as we remember our parents buying it for occasions such as birthdays, Christmas, and New Years. Perhaps you may even remember the old commercials from the 1970s of a couple toasting to the holidays with a glass of Cold Duck as a cheerful carol plays in the background.
However, some people might think that the name Cold Duck sounds more like a recipe for a main dish than a beverage. Some might even cringe at the thought of the wine due to the fact that it is one of the cheapest wines and it may not carry the same sophisticated taste as some of the other wines on the market. It was once the best-selling sparkling wine in America and it is still available today for only a few dollars at you local grocery store.
Cold Duck is a beverage that originated in Germany where it is traced back to the Bavarian practice of mixing cold sparkling Burgundy with various bottles of previously opened Champagne. This mixture, called kalte ende ("cold end"), kept the Champagne from being wasted and provided the people with a tasty beverage at the same time. Over time, the name ende transliterated to ente ("duck"). Harold Borgman, owner of Pontchartrain Wine Cellars in Detroit, based his invention of the beverage on this custom in 1937.
Cold Duck experienced brief popularity in the early 1970s in parties and became known as classic party bubbles. With it's soft concord grape base, it is blended with sweet combination of red and white wines. The original American Cold Duck combined one part of Californian red wine with two parts of New York sparkling wine even though exact recipe now varies today. Among the most well known brands of Cold Duck is André from the E. & J. Gallo Winery, which uses Concord grapes to make their version of the beverage. The winery was selling two million cases of it a year in 1971; four years after the winery introduced their version to the public. Unlike most red wines and like white wines and Champagne, Cold duck is best when served chilled and goes great with other party hors d'ouvres such as green olives baked in pie crust or cheese and crackers.
