Pineau des Charentes
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Pineau des Charentes, (Pineau Charentais, or simply Pineau) is regional French aperitif, made in the départements of Charente and Charente-Maritime in western France. Whilst popular in Charente, it is less well-known in other regions of France and somewhat uncommon abroad.
It is a fortified wine (mistelle or vin de liqueur), made from a blend of unfermented grape must and Cognac brandy.
Pineau is also found as a home-made product in the neighbouring Deux-Sèvres département, but it is not sold. In Vendée there is a similar drink called troussepinette, which is often flavoured with pine or fruits such as pear. Elsewhere in France analogous drinks are made (Macvin in Jura, Floc de Gascogne in the Armagnac area; there is also Pommeau, similarly made by blending apple juice and apple brandy), but these products are much less well known nationally and internationally than Pineau.
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[edit] History
According to legend, during the harvest of 1589, a winemaker accidentally added grape must into a barrel that he believed was empty but in fact contained eau de vie. The mixture was duly returned to the cellars for fermentation. A few years later, the barrel was retrieved and was found to contain the drink that is now associated with the region of Charente.
[edit] Varieties
[edit] White pineau
The dominant white variety of pineau is made using the grapes Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard, with occasional Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Montils. The mixture is aged for at least 18 months in oak barrels.
The resulting drink is between 16 and 22% ABV (but in commercial practice nearly always 17%) and is traditionally a deep gold in colour, but colours and qualities vary from vineyard to vineyard, depending on the lie of the land, the soil composition and the grape used. The taste is predominantly sweet, but is balanced by both acidity and the increased level of alcohol.
Finer varieties are aged for over 5 years in barrel, and often for several decades.
[edit] Red/Rosé pineau
The less common rosé variety, very popular locally, is made from the grapes Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, and is aged for at least 14 months in oak barrels. The finished drink is again between 16 and 22% ABV (usually 17%) and varies between a deep mahogany brown colour and a very dark pink.
[edit] Production
The annual production of pineau is around 14,000,000 litres. Around 80% of this is made in the Charente-Maritime département. Its production is controlled under the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée 'vin de liqueur' classification, though it is not a wine in the ordinary sense. In principle the same producer grows the grapes, makes the wine and distils it into brandy, presses the fresh grape juice and then blends and matures the result. The geographical zone authorized for the production of Pineau des Charentes AOC is practically identical with that for Cognac, and in fact practically all the artisanal producers of pineau (numbering several hundred) also sell their own Cognac.
When a good harvest is expected the best grapes may be picked by hand, but most producers harvest most of their crop mechanically. Very strict rules and formulas for the ratios of brandy and fresh grape juice are followed by each vintner and the process is even more tightly controlled for organic producers. The year of the pineau depends on the year of the eau de vie and not on the grape juice, as the juice must be freshly squeezed from freshly picked grapes - literally squeezed and mixed the same day as harvesting.
The act of mixing the eau de vie with the fresh grape juice is referred to as "assemblage", assembly or blending. It stops the fermentation of the grape must through a process called "mutage".
An increasing number of vineyards in the area now produce and sell pineau in which both the grape juice and the brandy come from organically-grown grapes. Their products have certification.
