cold duck

• Cold Duck

Calque of German kalte Ente,[1] from kalten Ende (“cold end”).[2] Attested in English from the 1960s,[1] see quotations below.

cold duck (uncountable)

1. A sparkling red wine, often made by blending champagne with red wine, sometimes with additional flavorings added.
   • 1966, Wines and Vines, volume 47, page 43:

     I would like to give Cold Duck a special mention because it was discovered by me personally—along with some two million Detroiters who at that time were the only Americans who’d ever heard of or enjoyed it.

   • 1997 June 22, Michale Brett, “Montana celebrations with Beatles and Cold Duck”, in Sunday Star-Times, Wellington, New Zealand, page E 10:

     Many young or new to the industry at last week’s party may have wondered what it was all about — the Beatles songs, the bright-eyed dancers, the re-introduction of a sparkling red wine called Cold Duck.

   • 2004 December 1, Virginie Boone, quoting Karen MacNeil, “Celebrate red: beyond the horror that was cold duck”, in Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, page D1:

     “My family drank cold duck every Thanksgiving and, being a kid, I loved it. It was so sweet, so cheap, the kind of thing a kid could love,” she said.

   • 2023 June 24, “Many of you wrote to me with your own tales of domestic crimes”, in The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania, page 4:

     Thank you, Rosie, I now have a lovely image of your husband arriving at the Pearly Gates, with his swinging Safari Suit tucked under one arm, and a bottle of Cold Duck under the other, asking where the Fondue Party is.

• Cold Duck on Wikipedia.Wikipedia