What’s the deal with…Cold Duck?
The second instalment of, “why do sommeliers think this is so funny?” is…
Andre Cold Duck!
This one took some real searching to find. The illusive bottle was finally unearthed at the Smart and Final off of the Central Freeway in San Francisco for under 4 dollars. Boy was I excited. I was anticipating something like a sparkling Shiraz when I was told it was a red wine with bubbles. Never in my wildest dreams would I have anticipated what came to be a cross between grape Fanta, Cranberry Juice Cocktail, and one of those “Champagnes” that you need to swallow Advil with in order to circumvent the inevitable immediate headache. The syrupy sweet elixir wasn’t even worth a second glass.
But what is Cold Duck? The dredges of spit buckets with a heavy dossage?
Here are some snippets from Wikipedia: Cold Duck is the name of a sparkling wine made in the United States that was at one stage the best-selling “champagne” in America.The wine was invented by Harold Borgman, the owner of Pontchartrain Wine Cellars in Detroit, in 1937. The recipe was based on a traditional German custom of mixing all the dregs of unfinished wine bottles with champagne.Baskin-Robbins had an ice cream called Cold Duck Ice in the 1970s. The cultural trivia section explains almost all you ever need to know about Cold Duck’s place in society. Meanwhile…
This mixture was called kalte ende (“cold end”); over the years, ende transliterated to ente (“duck”). The wines used to make cold duck are often of inferior quality. The resulting potation is quite sweet with few other distinguishable characteristics.–Copyright (c) 1995 by Barron’s Educational Series, from The New Food Lover’s Companion, Second Edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst
In doing research for this article I came across other obscure wines that may warrent some type of further investigation. Apparently I missed a lot in wine in the years prior to 1980 such as: Ripple (?) Bali Hai (?) Thunderbird (?) Matues (?) Spanada (?)
Until those treasures are found Retsina is next on the list. I leave you with my favorite thing about Cold Duck:
December 19, 2007 at 1:29 am
My Grandfather was H.H Borgman
The wine is best when its made from scratch, not bottled bought. When my grandfather was in France during WW1, he experimented with left over bottles of champagne, the so called dreges of wine. When he returned to Detroit, he worked for awhile at Peoples State Bank where his Father was Vice President. In the mid thirties he opened up a restaurant styled after French Bistro;s. It was then he concocted the wine he so sought from 20 years prior. Cold Duck was served from the bowl and a new batch was made every day for his customers. It was served exclusively at the Pontchartrain Wine Cellars for 50 years
July 6, 2008 at 2:25 am
yeah F the guy who wrote this, Cold Duck is my fav drink ever!
May 7, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I HAD ANDRE’ COLD DUCK WINE THIS PAST “NEW YEARS’S EVE” FOR THE VERY VERY FIRST TIME, AND I GOT TO TELL YOU IT IS MY FAVORITE
CHAMPAGNE WINE OF ALL TIME, IT’S THE VERY VERY BEST, MY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MAKERS AT “ANDRE” AND TO “ANDRE MAKERS COMPANY” YOUR THE VERY VERY BEST, KEEP IT UP, KEEP UP THE GOOD AND GREAT WORK, SINCERELY YOUR CUSTOMER
STEVE PARELLA.
October 18, 2009 at 11:09 pm
You need assistance selecting “champagne” …
June 7, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I worked at the Pontchartrain Wine Cellars for a few years in the 1970’s, where I served Cold Duck as their flagship apperatif. We served 1 part Hearty Burgundy with 2 parts NY champagne. Great restaurant, great owners with a great drink before a meal. tmp
August 30, 2009 at 10:21 am
The author of this article sounds like a snob who made up his mind he didn’t like this drink before he even tasted it.
October 18, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Well, we’re going to give this “fine” bottle a try with eggs benedict and asparagus later this PM.
Will post my thoughts !
October 18, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Ok.
Reminds me of Faygo Grape with Old English 800. ( The Detroit Monkey )
Sparkling grape Md 20/20 maybe.
Meh, not horrible, but not worth buying again.
November 22, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Born & raised in the Detroit ‘burbs “downriver” through the 60’s & 70’s. My Mom turned us on to Cold Duck during the Holidays as we came of age. We didn’t know where she came up with it but we loved it. I can’t imagine a Thanksgiving or Christmas without it!! I’ll be getting some this week but this site has me thinking about making my own, maybe with some Lambrusco and some cheap champagne. I’m Irish but I’ll try.
LPC