🍷 Pineau des Charentes
Also known as: Pineau, Pineau Charentais
Liqueur wine from the Charentes: grape must fortified with Cognac from the same estate.
Pineau des Charentes is a French liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin, first recognised in 1945. It may be white, rosé or red.
It is made by mutage: grape must is fortified with Cognac so that the finished wine has 16–22% alcohol. The must is fortified during the harvest, may have only just begun to ferment and must still hold more than 170 g of sugar per litre; stored must and enrichment are forbidden. The Cognac must have at least 60% alcohol, have been aged in oak, come from an earlier distillation season and come from the same estate as the grapes.
White Pineau is aged for at least 18 months, at least 12 of them in oak; red for at least 12 months, 8 of them in oak; rosé until at least 1 March after the harvest. «Vieux» means more than 7 years in oak, and «très vieux» or «extra vieux» more than 12.
The area covers 738 communes or parts of communes in the Charente and Charente-Maritime and a few in the Dordogne and Deux-Sèvres. White Pineau comes from varieties such as Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Folle Blanche, Montils, Sémillon and Sauvignon; rosé and red from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Côt (Malbec) and Merlot. The names «Ile de Ré» and «Ile d'Oléron» may be added for wines from those islands.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Pineau des Charentes → kind of → 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines → related → 🍷 Wine
How it connects to Spirits
🍷 Pineau des Charentes → kind of → 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Made from
- 🥃 Cognac
- Part of
- 🗺️ French wine, 🍷 Mistelle, 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ French wine
- Made from grapes
- 🍇 Colombard, 🍇 Merlot, 🍇 Cabernet Sauvignon
- Related to
- 🍷 White wine, 🍷 Rosé, 🍷 Fortified wine, 🍷 Sweet wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Macvin du Jura, 🍷 Mistelle, 🥃 Cognac, 🥃 Ratafia, 🥃 Bois Ordinaires, 🥃 Bons Bois, 🥃 Fins Bois, 🥃 Pommeau de Bretagne, 🥃 Pommeau de Normandie, 🥃 Pommeau du Maine
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that any brandy can be used for Pineau?
No. The spirit must be Cognac of at least 60 %, aged in oak, from an earlier distillation season and from the same estate as the grapes.
What do «Ile de Ré» and «Ile d'Oléron» on a bottle mean?
The names may be added for wines from those islands.
How many communes lie in the Pineau area?
738 communes or parts of communes in the Charente and Charente-Maritime, plus a few in the Dordogne and Deux-Sèvres.
What to read next
- 🍇 Merlot — One of the world's most widely grown red grapes, native to Bordeaux; it makes soft wines.
- 🍷 Macvin du Jura — A drink from the Jura: grape juice blended with local grape brandy.
- 🗺️ French wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 🥃 Fins Bois — Fins Bois is the largest of the six cognac crus, around Grande and Petite Champagne and Borderies. Red stony groie soils give round, soft spirits that mature quickly and often go into younger blends. It is not a quality grade.
- 🥃 Ratafia — Ratafia is a name for sweet liqueurs. The EU protects two: Ratafia Catalana (green walnuts, 24–30% ABV) from Spain and Ratafia champenois (grape must with spirit) from Champagne, France.
Similar
🍷 Floc de Gascogne · 🍷 Ratafia de Champagne · 🍷 Macvin du Jura · 🍷 Banyuls · 🍷 Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise · 🍷 Mistelle
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- BO agri du MASA 10.07.2025: Cahier des charges de l'AOC «Pineau des Charentes» (arrêté du 1er juillet 2025)
- Wikidata