Pineau des Charentes , a mistelle made from fresh-pressed grapes fortified with cognac, has been produced in France’s Cognac region for more than four hundred years. Created at the end of the sixteenth century when it was common practice to stabilize wine with spirit, pineau des Charentes has since stayed true to its original method using exclusively local grapes and cognac, which must come from the same farm. Since it was granted an appellation contrôlée (AOC) in 1945, production method is strictly controlled. Pineau des Charentes can be made with white grapes for the white expression and red grapes for the red. It must be barrel aged a minimum of eighteen months before bottling (some are aged for much longer) and have a 16–22 percent ABV.
In France, pineau des Charentes is mostly drunk as an aperitif but is also paired with food such as foie gras or cantaloupe. See
See also mistelle.
Comité National du Pineau des Charentes website. https://www.pineau.fr (accessed March 8, 2021).
By: Alexandre Gabriel