David on Technical Topics – Pineau

Many of us travel to France in the summer holidays and diligently search out local products which are unique to the area we are visiting and Pineau des Charentes, with its rich and often sweet properties, is perhaps the one which interests us most.  We ask “what is it?” and the answer “Pineau” does nothing to reassure us.  We ask, “is it a wine or a brandy?”, ”is it like a sherry or a port?” and the answer still comes back, “Pineau”!

Pineau is unique as indeed sherry or port are in their respective countries.  It is a combination of freshly distilled Cognac, which we call ‘eau de vie’, and the indigenous grapes of the area and is available as either white, red or rosé.  It is made by Cognac producers, often to use up their excess of newly distilled eau de vie as there are strict limits as to how much can be aged to make Cognac. Pineau is a combination of 25% eau de vie and 75% grape juice which is then aged in oak barrels and in France it is consumed as an aperitif.

The Cognac production region is known as the Charente and Charente Maritime, a part of France which overlaps with some of the most famous wine producing regions.  As a consequence, it is not unusual to find grape varieties such as Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabinet Sauvignon and Cabinet Franc in addition to some of the cognac grapes such as Ugni Blanc and Colombard, being used in the production of Pineau.  The individual choice of grape can have a big inflence on the colour and taste of the final product.

Muost of the Pineau des Charentes produced is sold at the relatively young age of 3 – 5 years old.  However, some is aged for longer, up to 20 years, producing much richer and intense flavours and maybe sold as vintage Pineau. Indeed one red Pineau, produced near the Gironde estuary, has been compared to a fine cold port but this is unusual as most of the red is quite light in colour. The white Pineau will darken with ageing and is sometimes mixed with citric fruit juices and cognac, as in our Pineau Royale recipe, to form a delightfully fresh and cool cocktail.

Pineau des Charentes is a product of the cognac region but there are also similar drinks made in the Armagnac and Calvados producing regions. In Armagnac the product is called Floc and it differs in that it is not aged in oak whilst in Normandy, where Calvados is produced, it is called Pomeau and is of course made from apple juice.  Both of these are rarely seen outside of France and even in their respective regions can sometimes be very difficult to locate.