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. The wine he produced was given the name Kaltes Ende (“cold end” in German), until it was humorously altered to the similar sounding term Kalte Ente meaning “cold duck” .

A jazz standard named “Cold Duck Time” by Eddie Harris has been performed by many jazz musicians, including Jeff Golub and Al Jarreau.