What is it called? Pineau des Charentes (Pineau for short) is the type!  

How is it pronounced? PEE-no Day Sha-RAHNT

What is it? Pineau des Charentes is a unique aperitif (although it can also be used as a somewhat sweet dessert wine) that is made sort of like a fortified wine (like Port). 

I don’t like Port! What’s wrong with you?!? Seriously, it doesn’t matter. Pineau tastes nothing like Port. 

How is it different? Pineau des Charentes is a little lower in alcohol (~18%) and somewhat less sweet than Port. Also, the grapes are different, so the flavor profile is totally different. To make Port, unaged brandy is added to partially fermented, ultra-ripe red grape must (juice). The resulting wine is about 20% alcohol and pretty sweet from the residual sugar. With Pineau des Charentes, the grape juice (must) does not begin fermentation, but as the grapes are less ripe, the resulting wine is a little less sweet. The spirit used is aged Cognac. Pineau is made from approximately 70% unfermented grape must (grape juice) and 30% Cognac. (With Port, the ratio is approximately 75% must and 25% brandy.)

Who makes it? Numerous Cognac producers, but it is much more popular in France than here in the U.S., so there aren't many examples available.

What color is it? It’s made in two styles. The white (really gold amber) is more popular, but there is also a light red (ruby).

Why should I care? Because it is a unique product that most wine lovers know nothing about. And that’s a shame, because it really is delicious.

Are there different quality levels? Oh yes!

How is quality determined? In many ways. The basics:

• The grape varietals used for the juice.

• Hand harvesting versus mechanical picking which is not as gentle on the grapes.

• The age of the Cognac used. Obviously older and smoother is better.

• The actual ratio of Cognac to juice

• How long the Pineau is aged before bottling.

More details, please

1. The dominant varietals for white Pineau are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard, with occasional Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Montils. The varietals for red Pineau are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Chateau de Boulon uses 15% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for the ruby; they use 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc for the white.

2. Many producers harvest by machine. Chateau de Boulon picks by hand.

3. Legally, Pineau must use Cognac that is aged at least one year in barrel. Most producers use 18-month old Cognac. Ch. de Boulon uses 3-year old Cognac!

4. Chateau de Boulon uses 1/3 Cognac and 2/3 juice.

5. Once the juice is mixed with the Cognac, white Pineau must be aged in barrel at least 18 months. Ruby Pineau requires 14 months. If they are aged 5 years, they can be called “old” (vieilles). If they are aged 10 years, they can be called “very old.”  There is a 20-year old, but it is very expensive and not available in this country.

In addition, Chateau de Boulon practices sustainable agriculture (nearly organic) in that they avoid artificial pesticides and fertilizers. Boulon is one of the few producers who can claim the title 'chateau;' not only is there a chateau, but it is also a single estate.

What do they taste like? They are very complex wines. The whites have been described as having characteristics of figs, stones, white flowers, vanilla, prunes, quince, cheese, exotic fruit, crystallized fruit, honey, walnut, almond, plum, mandarins, dried apricots, and lime. The older they get, the more the floral, honey, vanilla, prunes, cinnamon, orange peel, gingerbread, and walnut tastes seem to develop. The reds (the actual color is mahogany/deep rosé/copper) show characteristics of quince, cheese, blackberry, black currant, licorice, dried almond, honey, wood, cherry, morello cherry, cinnamon. As they age, woody notes, prunes, and chocolate dominate with nuances of black currant, cinnamon, mocha, and cocoa.

How should I serve them and what should I drink them with? Serve them all chilled. Aside from the aperitif or dessert idea, the whites are great as a delicate companion to foie gras, scallops, poached fish, white meat in cream sauce. Exceptional with goat cheese and Rocquefort. Also good with zabaglione, ice cream, or almond, vanilla, pear, pastries, and peach desserts. The reds are superb with foie gras, game, aged cheeses, pastries or ice cream containing red fruits. Both make an excellent reduction sauce, & the reds are terrific with BBQ.

How long do they last? They are at their freshest for a year, but they’ll be fine for two years. Once opened, they will easily keep a month in the refrigerator, but after that they will begin to lose their freshness.

How did Pineau des Charentes originate? According to legend, during the harvest of 1589 (at the time of Henry IV), a winemaker accidentally added grape must into a barrel that he believed was empty but in fact contained eau de vie (unaged brandy). The mixture was 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. 

I’m a wine geek. Give me more geeky info. The annual production of Pineau is around 14,000,000 liters. The vast bulk is drunk in France. Around 80% of production is made in the Charente-Maritime département. 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 distills 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 nearly 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 the bulk 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, for 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/prevents 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. The Pineau des Charentes vineyard stretches over the limestone hillsides of the Controlled Appellation  area, in Charente and Charente Maritime.

Laws passed in 1919 and 1935 guarantee the origin. The Decree of October 12th, 1945 defines the strict standards of the Controlled Appellation of Pineau des Charentes. From this decree, Pineau des Charentes must be elaborated following strict standards as for the allowed yield and grape varieties, the number of plants, the process, the grape sugar rate, the must alcoholic strength, etc:

• The added cognac and the juice must be produced from the same wine farm.

• Pineau must obtain an alcohol level between 16% and 22%. It's usually on the lower side.

• The production may not exceed 23 hectoliters per hectare.

• Pineau des Charentes must be aged in oak barrels for a year at least.

• Pineau must be bottled in the region of origin.

• The wine harvest starts at the end of September with Semillon and Sauvignon and ends between the 20th and 25th of October with Ugni Blanc.

• In order to keep the quality of the grape juice, pressing must be light. Pineau can only be offered for sale following the approval of the Tasting Committee run by the  I.NA.O.(Institut National des Appellations d'Origine).

 Besides drinking it straight or on the rocks, what else can I do with Pineau