Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1011938
{ SOMMjournal.com } 85 Quick: Think of a fortified wine other than Sherry or Port that's more widely consumed in its country of origin than it is in the rest of Europe and the United States combined. No, it's not Madeira, nor is it Muscat or Marsala. Give up? The leader of this under-the-radar category is Pineau des Charentes, and if the name of this versatile, low-alcohol for tified wine (vin de liqueur) doesn't naturally roll off your lips, it's understandable. "We export Cognac, but we drink Pineau des Charentes," is a proud saying among the people of the Charente-Maritime départment in France, where this popular yet geographically isolated beverage is made alongside its more well-known peer. In fact, with the Pineau AOC falling into the Cognac region, Pineau des Charentes producers must also be Cognac distillers, as the celebrated eau-de-vie serves as the integral ingredient that halts the wine's fermentation. It also helps give the vin de liqueur its unmistakable character. Pineau des Charentes is made by adding eau-de-vie AOC Cognac to unfermented grape juice. Its creation, legend has it, was an accident: According to an oft-told tale, a Charentes winemaker put grape must in a barrel he thought was empty during the 1589 harvest, but the vessel actually still contained some eau-de-vie. Pineau des Charentes can be served chilled as an apéritif while the headier rosé and Vieux varieties can make for refreshing digestifs. The fortified wine also has potential as an imaginative cocktail ingredient. "Although these are sweet wines, they may start out sweet and heavy, but they don't finish that way. They have a nice, dry finish." IMAGE COURTESY OF COMITÉ NATIONAL DU PINEAU DES CHARENTES