Pineau des Charentes
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Pineau des Charentes (also Pineau Charentais or simply Pineau ) is an alcoholic drink that is made from a mixture of unfermented grape must and eau de vie de cognac and is usually enjoyed as an aperitif . Pineau is made in the Charente and Charente-Maritime departments in western France and is very popular there, while it is less known in the rest of France and almost unknown abroad. In the neighboring Deux-Sèvres department , Pineau is often home-made and drunk, but not marketed. Pineau tastes sweet, but with a hint of tartaric acid.
In the Vendée department there is a similar drink called Troussepinette , which is often flavored with pears or other fruits. In other parts of France, there are corresponding drinks, such as Macvin du Jura in the Jura and Floc de Gascogne in the Armagnac region and Pommeau in Normandy , which consists of a mixture of cider and Calvados apple brandy. However, these are far less known than Pineau, both in France and abroad. The corresponding drink in Champagne is called Ratafia .
history
Legend has it that Pineau was invented by chance in 1589 when a winemaker accidentally poured grape must into a barrel that was thought to be empty and which was already partially filled with eau de vie , the starting product for cognac. As usual, the barrel was stored in the cellar for fermentation. When it was opened a few years later, it contained the drink that is so popular in the Charente today.
sorts
White pineau
In terms of quantity, white Pineau predominates. It is made from the grapes Ugni Blanc ( Trebbiano ), Folle Blanche and Colombard made, sometimes from grape varieties Sémillon , Sauvignon Blanc and Montils . White Pineau is stored in original cognac oak barrels (270 l each). Pineau has between 16 and 22% alcohol content (by volume); products intended for trade almost always have 17%. White Pineau has a deep golden color, which can vary somewhat due to differences in the vine, soil chemistry and hillside location.
Red Pineau
Here red grape varieties are used as the raw material. Apart from its color, red Pineau differs only slightly from white. Most of the time, Red Pineau matures in stainless steel containers.
Rosé Pineau
Here, too, red grape varieties are used as the raw material, although rosé wine production is started. The further development of alcohol is stopped by adding the young cognac, so that an alcohol content of around 17.5% is also achieved here. Because Rosé Pineau has the lowest sugar content of all Pineau varieties, it is particularly suitable for nutrition-conscious Pineau lovers. Most of the time, Rosé Pineau matures in stainless steel containers.
Vieux Pineau
The rare Vieux Pineau is stored for a particularly long time in original cognac oak barrels (270 l each) before it is sold. This guarantees a particularly fine drink.
Manufacturing
The total annual production of Pineau is around 14 million liters. It is subject to the regulations of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for "vin de liqueur", although Pineau as such is not a wine. The production - from the cultivation of the vines to the production of the wine, the distillation and the pressing of must to the final mixing and aging in the barrel - is mostly in the hands of the individual winegrowers, of whom there are several hundred. Geographically, pineau production is practically identical to that of cognac, and many pineau producers also market their own cognac.
Although the best berries are often picked by hand in good years, the harvest is usually fully mechanized. Strict regulations regulate the ratio of brandy to must in the Pineau mixture, and there are additional regulations for producers of “organic” Pineaus. The number of producers who produce Pineau from organically produced must and organically produced brandy is growing steadily.
The appellation requires that the must (fermented grape juice) and the eau de vie come from the same vintage. The must must be pressed from freshly harvested berries and added to the brandy on the day of harvest. The mixing (“assemblage”) of the fresh must with the eau de vie stops fermentation of the must through a chemical process called “mutage”.
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- Fermenting grape must into wine
- Distilling into young cognac ( eau de vie )
- (Storage turns eau de vie into cognac)
- Assemblage of eau de vie with grape must (ratio approx. 1: 3)
Data of a typical Pineau
| Grape variety | Ugni Blanc ; Colombard ; Merlot ; Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Alcohol content | 17% |
| Sugar content (g / L) | White: 145; Red: 150; Rosé: 125 |
| Acidity (g / L) | <2 |
| Age of Pineau (years) | White: 4; Red: 3; Rose: 2; Vieux: 9 |
Web links and individual references
