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Pineau, or to be precise, Pineau des Charentes, is a fortified wine from Cognac, France. Less strong than Cognac and much sweeter, it is enjoyed as an aperitif. Pineau is a marriage between fresh grape juice and young eau-de-vie. The mixture is then aged in oak barrels for some months and takes on a wonderful round body. It can be enjoyed on ice, with a dash of Gin, or as a long drink with tonic. It's also amazing for cooking, or pour a bit of Pineau into a halved Charentais melon!
Read more about Pineau on our blog.
The Aperitif of Cognac Country
Rows of vines on a Charente hillside, the vineyards that supply the fresh grape must for Pineau des Charentes.
Pineau des Charentes is a fortified wine made in the Cognac region, produced by blending fresh grape must with young Cognac eau-de-vie. Sweeter and considerably lower in alcohol than Cognac itself, it is the everyday aperitif of the Charente, poured chilled before a meal, alongside dessert, or in place of sweet vermouth in a cocktail.
Pineau des Charentes is a fortified wine, known officially as a vin de liqueur or mistelle, made exclusively in the Cognac region of western France. It is produced by mixing roughly three parts fresh grape must with one part young Cognac eau-de-vie, around 25 to 30% of the finished blend. The eau-de-vie halts fermentation before it really begins, a process called mutage, which preserves the natural sugar of the grape juice rather than letting it ferment into wine.
White Pineau is made mainly from Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard, the same grapes used for Cognac, with smaller amounts of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Montils. Rosé and Rouge Pineau use Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, grapes brought into Pineau production later in the 20th century. The blend then rests in oak casks, where it takes on colour, roundness and the vanilla and spice notes of the wood.
| Style | Minimum ageing before sale | Typical character |
|---|---|---|
| Pineau des Charentes (Blanc, Rosé or Rouge) | Blanc 18 months, Rouge 12 months, Rosé until 1 March after the harvest | Pale gold to ruby, fresh grape and orchard fruit, honeyed |
| Vieux Pineau des Charentes | More than 7 years in oak | Amber, dried fruit, vanilla, light spice |
| Très Vieux Pineau des Charentes | More than 12 years in oak | Deep amber to mahogany, walnut, caramel, long finish |
Local legend puts Pineau’s birth in the autumn of 1589, when a Charentais winemaker is said to have poured freshly pressed grape must into a barrel he believed was empty. It still held a little Cognac eau-de-vie. The barrel was closed and forgotten, and when it was opened years later the juice and the spirit had married into something new. True or not, the story captures how Pineau came about, as a by-product of Cognac making, a way to keep surplus juice and turn it into something worth serving. For centuries it stayed a family drink, poured at weddings and holidays across the Charente, and only began to be bottled commercially in the early 20th century.
Cognac is a spirit: white wine that is double-distilled into eau-de-vie, then aged in oak and bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV. It is dry, and drunk neat or on ice as a digestif. Pineau is a fortified wine, not a spirit: fresh grape must fortified with Cognac eau-de-vie, bottled at 16 to 22% ABV. It is sweet, and drunk chilled as an aperitif or with dessert.
The two are related rather than interchangeable. The eau-de-vie used to fortify a Pineau is the same young Cognac spirit that, left to age on its own, would eventually become a VS Cognac. An extended stay in oak turns any Pineau into a Vieux or Très Vieux style, with some of the depth associated with an aged Hors d'Age Cognac, but the sugar and the lower strength never leave it. Browse our full range of Cognac alongside the Pineau below.
Pineau des Charentes is made in the same production zone as Cognac: a stretch of Charente and Charente-Maritime between the Atlantic coast and the inland forests, on clay and limestone soils with a mild, maritime climate. The same crus that shape a Cognac, from Grande Champagne to Bois Ordinaires, shape the grapes that go into Pineau.
Grapes are picked at the September harvest and pressed quickly to keep the juice fresh. White grapes are pressed immediately for a pale, clear must. Red grapes are given a short maceration on their skins before pressing, a few hours for a Rosé and longer for a Rouge, to draw out colour and fruit. The must is then blended with Cognac eau-de-vie and moved to oak casks to age, develop colour and round out.
White grapes on the vine in the Charente, pressed for Pineau within hours of picking.
Protected by Law
Pineau des Charentes was first recognised as an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in 1945, the first French vin de liqueur ever granted AOC status (the name itself has been protected since 1935). The appellation is governed today by a cahier des charges homologated by arrêté of 8 June 2026 (JORF n°0135, 11 June 2026), which sets out exactly how it must be made.
INAO sums it up simply: « Le Pineau des Charentes est un vin de liqueur issu d’un assemblage entre le moût de raisin (jus de raisin) et l’eau-de-vie de Cognac. » In English: Pineau des Charentes is a vin de liqueur made by blending fresh grape must with Cognac eau-de-vie.
A painted producer sign in the Charente. Pineau has carried its own appellation since 1945.
What “Vieux” and “Très Vieux” mean, by law:
| Style | Standard minimum ageing | Vieux | Très Vieux / Extra Vieux |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blanc | 18 months, at least 12 of them in oak | More than 7 years in oak | More than 12 years in oak |
| Rosé | Until 1 March following the harvest (no oak required) | More than 7 years in oak | More than 12 years in oak |
| Rouge | 12 months, at least 8 of them in oak | More than 7 years in oak | More than 12 years in oak |
Source: Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO), Pineau des Charentes AOC cahier des charges, arrêté of 8 June 2026. See the official INAO product page (opens in a new tab).
Three colours, one AOC
All three are made the same way. What changes is the grape and, for Rosé and Rouge, how long the skins stay in contact with the juice before pressing.
In the glass, expect something between a dessert wine and a fine liqueur. A Blanc pours translucent gold, with acacia honey, apricot and quince, sweet and silky but lifted by acidity. An older Blanc turns amber and picks up an oxidative nuttiness closer to a light sherry. Rosé and Rouge show cherry, raspberry and strawberry, closer in spirit to a ruby Port but lighter in body.
Made from Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard, the white Cognac grapes. Pale gold in the glass, with honey, ripe orchard fruit and orange blossom. The most widely produced of the three colours, and the classic Charentais aperitif.
Red grapes, mainly Merlot and Cabernet, pressed after only a brief contact with their skins. Light pink, fresh and fruity, with red berry notes. A middle ground between Blanc and Rouge, and an easy match for a chilled tonic.
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, macerated on their skins for longer to draw out deeper colour and structure. Rouge is the newest of the three colours, a later addition to the appellation, with ripe berry fruit and a little more grip than Blanc or Rosé.
Any of the three colours can be aged further. Vieux Pineau des Charentes rests more than 7 years in oak, Très Vieux more than 12. Extra time in the cask turns the colour amber to mahogany and adds dried fruit, walnut, caramel and a long, warming finish, closer in spirit to an aged Cognac.
A cloth-wrapped bung sealing an oak cask, where Pineau ages for its Vieux and Très Vieux styles.
Pineau sits in its own niche next to Port, Sherry and vermouth. The difference is when the fortification happens. Pineau is fortified before fermentation begins, so the grape sugar is original juice rather than a leftover of fermentation, and the taste stays fresh and grapey. Port is fortified mid-fermentation, Sherry after it, and vermouth is a fortified wine that has additionally been flavoured with herbs.
| Drink | Base and fortification | ABV | Sweetness | Flavour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pineau des Charentes | Fresh grape must, fortified with Cognac eau-de-vie before fermentation (mutage), then aged in oak. | 16 to 22% | Sweet, roughly 125 to 150 g/L | Honeyed grape, apricot, berries, oak and spice with age |
| Port | Red wine fortified with neutral grape spirit during fermentation, then aged in wood or tank. | 19 to 20% | Sweet, roughly 90 to 120 g/L | Raisin, plum, tannin, more wine-like |
| Sherry (Cream, PX) | Fully fermented wine fortified after fermentation and aged oxidatively in solera. | 15 to 20% | Dry to very sweet | Nutty, oxidative, caramel and dried fruit |
| Sweet vermouth | Wine fortified and aromatised with wormwood, herbs and spices. | 15 to 18% | Sweet, roughly 130 to 170 g/L | Herbal and bitter, botanical rather than grapey |
In practice that puts Pineau closest to a sweet white Port or a medium-sweet Sherry: chilled before a meal, or with a fruit tart afterwards. It carries none of the bitterness of vermouth, and it is lighter on the palate than Port. Within France its nearest relatives are the other vins de liqueur, Floc de Gascogne, Macvin du Jura and Pommeau de Normandie, each made the same way with its own regional spirit.
Serve Pineau well chilled, around 8 to 10°C, in a small tulip glass, a wine glass or a sherry copita, in pours of 60 to 90ml. The chill keeps the sweetness in check and lets the fruit come through. In the Charente, a glass of Pineau is the classic way to greet arriving guests, often with a bowl of olives or nuts alongside.
Pineau pairs naturally with food. Melon au Pineau, a ripe Charentais melon with a splash of Pineau poured into the cavity, is a regional classic starter. A young Blanc suits fruit tarts and light desserts, a Rouge suits chocolate, and an aged Vieux or Très Vieux stands up well to foie gras or a blue cheese such as Roquefort, the sweetness cutting through the richness of both. See more ideas in our Cognac food pairing guide.
Oysters, bread and charcuterie, the table Pineau is poured at in the Charente.
Pineau also works in cocktails. Its low strength and grapey sweetness make it a natural stand-in for sweet vermouth in a Manhattan or a Negroni, and a simple Pineau over ice topped with tonic makes an easy spritz. For more mixing ideas, see Three Cognac Cocktails Nobody Has Made Yet.
In their own words
We asked the families who make it what Pineau means to them, and what separates a good one from a rough blend of juice and Cognac. Their answers, and the bottles they make.
Pineau is judged at local concours across the Charente every year.
“Pineau des Charentes is part of my childhood memories. When I was little, bottling Pineau des Charentes was a real family event.”
Thérèse Bertrand
Cognac Bertrand · Bertrand Pineau Vieux Rouge
“Pineau des Charentes is an aperitif and dessert wine, according to the official nomenclature, a vin de liqueur, closely related to vins doux naturels. When tasted, it should not only be fragrant and flavorful, but also well-rounded, mellow and evolved. What I don’t consider to be Pineau is a rough blend of grape juice and Cognac, which reveals the sugar and acidity of the grape juice on the one hand, and the overly young Cognac on the other.”
Jacky Navarre
Cognac Navarre · Navarre Pineau des Charentes Vieux
“Pineau des Charentes must be well balanced. For a young Pineau, the Cognac should not overpower the grape juice, and vice versa. This is what makes crafting a good Pineau difficult, each year is a new adventure, with grape juice that varies in sweetness depending on the summer weather.”
Catherine Tercinier
Cognac Vallein Tercinier · Vallein Tercinier Le Reste des Anges
“Pineau des Charentes carries the image of a regional aperitif made from a simple blend of mutated grape juice and brandy, simply enjoyed in summer with friends. This very general image, however, conceals exceptional cuvées of the highest quality, both complex and singular. There’s a world of difference between these two products.”
Yvan Meyer
Château d’Orignac · Château d’Orignac Very Old Pineau
“When pineau is young, we’re treated to light, fruity notes; as it ages, a gradual aromatic shift takes place, offering us a surprising and pleasing complexity.”
Jean-Pierre Grateaud
Cognac Grateaud · Grateaud Très Très Vieux Pineau
“Tradition in the Martinaud family: fine glasses of Pineau, Charentais melon from France, a thin slice of local ham and salted butter. We also love Extra Vieux Pineau des Charentes for a gourmet aperitif or dessert wine.”
Justine Martinaud
Cognac Martinaud · Martinaud Pineau des Charentes Blanc
Pineau is a small production by Cognac standards, roughly 90,000 to 110,000 hectolitres a year, about 11 million bottles, and 75 to 80% of it is drunk inside France. That is close to the mirror image of Cognac, which sends almost all of its production abroad. Belgium, the UK, Canada, Japan and the United States are the steady export markets, and interest has been growing with the move towards lower-alcohol drinks, helped by the Comité National du Pineau and by bartenders who reach for it where they would once have used sweet vermouth.
The vineyards behind it are changing too. Most Pineau comes from small family estates, and a growing number have converted to organic or biodynamic farming or hold HVE environmental certification, so a bottle labelled Bio is no longer unusual.
Highest Rated
The four highest-scoring Pineau in our range, ranked by customer review score.
Hand-Selected
A handful of Pineau bottles our tasting team keeps coming back to, across Blanc, Rosé, Rouge and Vieux styles.
Good to know
Pineau des Charentes is a fortified wine from the Cognac region, made by blending fresh grape must with young Cognac eau-de-vie. It is sweet, aromatic and bottled at 16 to 22% ABV.
No. Cognac is a distilled spirit, dry and at least 40% ABV. Pineau is a fortified wine, sweet and much lower in alcohol, though both are made in the same region and Pineau contains Cognac eau-de-vie.
Between 16 and 22% ABV under the AOC rules, typically around 17%, well below Cognac's minimum of 40%.
Blanc is made from white Cognac grapes such as Ugni Blanc. Rosé and Rouge use red grapes, mainly Merlot and Cabernet, macerated briefly on their skins for Rosé and for longer to make Rouge.
They indicate extra time in oak. Vieux Pineau des Charentes has aged more than 7 years in oak, Très Vieux more than 12, giving a deeper colour and more dried fruit and spice.
Chilled, around 8 to 10°C, in a small tulip or wine glass. It is drunk as an aperitif, with dessert, or mixed into a cocktail such as a Pineau spritz.
Keep an opened bottle in the fridge and drink it within about two to three months. Pineau is fortified, so it lasts far longer than table wine, but the fresh fruit fades with air. Unopened and stored upright somewhere cool and dark, a bottle keeps for years, and a Vieux or Très Vieux longer still.
Sweet but not cloying, with the grape still very present. A Blanc gives honey, ripe orchard fruit and orange blossom. A Rosé is lighter, with red berries. A Rouge is deeper and firmer. Vieux and Très Vieux styles move towards dried fruit, walnut and caramel from the extra time in oak.
Roughly pee-noh day sha-rahnt. The final s of Charentes is silent, and Pineau rhymes with the o in note, not with the wine grape Pinot, which is a different word.
The closest substitutes are other French vins de liqueur, Floc de Gascogne, Macvin du Jura or Pommeau de Normandie. A sweet sherry, a white port or a Muscat also work in cooking, though none carries the Cognac character that defines Pineau.
Direct from our shop. We stock the full range below, Blanc, Rosé, Rouge and aged Vieux bottlings from independent Charente producers, and we ship worldwide.
Keep exploring
Read more about Pineau's history and how it is made on our blog, or browse the rest of our Cognac range. For the official AOC rules, see the appellation facts above.
What Is Pineau? The Little Brother of Cognac · Cognac Food Pairing a la Carte · Three Cognac Cocktails Nobody Has Made Yet
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