STORIES AND RECIPES
THÉOPHILE’S YOUNG ROSÉ PINEAU
“I like to dust off Pineau and modernize how it’s enjoyed. In summer, I top up my young rosé Pineau with sparkling water and an ice cube — it’s refreshing and original.”
Gratinated Oysters with Pineau des Charentes
for 12 oysters – serves 2 gourmets
Open 12 Marennes-Oléron oysters and keep their juice.
Melt 20 g of butter, then gently cook 1 chopped shallot in it.
Deglaze with 10 cl of white Pineau des Charentes and the oyster juice.
Reduce by half, then add 10 cl of thick cream.
Pepper, strain, and spoon over each oyster.
Sprinkle with a mix of fine breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
Gratinate 6–8 minutes at 180 °C, until golden.
Serve immediately with a chilled glass of Pineau.
Grandma’s Rabbit Stew with Red Pineau
1 rabbit (about 1.5 kg), cut in pieces
100 g grey shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatoes
Salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf
Red Pineau
The day before, marinate the rabbit in red Pineau.
Next day, brown the rabbit pieces in a casserole.
Remove them once golden, and replace them with the sliced shallots and garlic.
Put the rabbit back, add ¼ L of red Pineau, and the diced tomatoes.
Add thyme, bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper.
Let simmer gently for 1 ½ hours.
Brigitte’s Foie Gras with Cognac and Pineau
560 g foie gras
12 g salt
5 g pepper
3 tbsp cognac
2 glasses old Pineau (Vieille Réserve)
The day before: marinate the foie gras with salt, pepper, cognac, and 1 glass of Pineau.
The second glass of Pineau… sip it secretly in the kitchen 😉
The next day: pack the foie into a terrine dish and cook it in a bain-marie at 150 °C for 30 minutes (fan oven, no preheating).
Eugénie’s Blue Cheese Pairing
“I love enjoying an aged Rosé Pineau with blue-veined cheeses —
Fourme d’Ambert or Roquefort for a bit more character.
The nutty and red-fruit notes of this Pineau
beautifully highlight the intense flavors of these cheeses.”
Pierre-Louis’ Cognac Tonic
4 cl Giboin VS Cognac
8 cl tonic
A few drops of verjus
Ice cubes
The Cognac Tonic is a Charentes classic — though it sadly struggles to travel abroad.
Yet it’s a simple, original cocktail where the woodiness of Cognac blends perfectly with the tonic’s bitterness.
Verjus, made from the juice of under-ripe grapes, is a local alternative to lime juice.
Choose an artisanal tonic to preserve freshness.
Add some ice cubes and enjoy this as an aperitif.
Grandpa’s Coffee Ritual
Grandpa was a real coffee lover.
After meals, he’d sink into his big grey leather club chair with a steaming cup.
But it didn’t end there…
When the cup was empty, he’d stand up, open the diamond-pointed cabinet,
and reach for the Cognac VSOP bottle on the bottom shelf.
He’d pour a few centilitres of Cognac into the still-warm coffee cup,
where a faint trace of coffee mingled with a bit of grounds.
He’d close his eyes… and savor the moment.
Try it — you’ll be hooked.
Suzanne’s Cognac Sugar Cubes
When we were kids, our great-grandmother lived on the farm,
in a small cottage she and her husband Camille had renovated.
She’d spend most afternoons in her wicker chair, beside her green telephone,
watching us play outside on the lawn in the Massif Central.
And it was with Grandma Suzanne that we tasted our first Cognac — as canards.
She had little brown sugar cubes that she dipped
into a touch of Napoléon Cognac.
The sugar soaked it up, and at around 12 or 13 years old,
she initiated us to the pleasures of Cognac trapped in a cube of sugar.
François’ Walnut Cake with Vanilla Cognac Frosting
Cake mixture
200 g crushed walnut kernels
200 g caster sugar
7 eggs
A good handful of breadcrumbs
A few drops of Cognac infused with vanilla pods
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale.
Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites, then add the crushed walnuts.
Mix delicately.
Pour into a buttered hot tin.
Bake at 175 °C for about 30–35 minutes.
Icing / filling
Mix 150 g icing sugar with 150 g soft butter,
then add a few drops of vanilla-infused Cognac.
Assembly
Cut the cake into two layers. Spread half the cream on one layer,
place the second on top, and cover with the rest of the cream.
Decorate with walnut halves.
