Pique Your Palate This Summer With Picpoul de Pinet

Picpoul de Pinet is what you crave for beach days and poolside pursuits.

Quick: what’s crisp and refreshing, comes in a slender green bottle, and has an alliterative name? If you said Vinho Verde, well, you wouldn’t be wrong. But we’re actually thinking about a French expression that closely resembles the Portuguese summer quaffer in style and easy drinkability—if not grape variety or region.

“Peek-pool.” The very pronunciation of this underrated French white hints at where you might be found day-drinking it this summer. After all, its aforementioned bottle is called “The Neptune” and is adorned with a ring of small waves around the neck, and the wine is produced close to the shores of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. You’re forgiven if the mere mention makes you want to grab your beach tote, floppy hat, and sunnies.

Picpoul Region in France

Piquepoul gris grapes — Piquepoul_gris_-_Ampélographie by Jules Troncy is marked with CC0 1.0.

Picpoul de Pinet (the wine) hails from the Picpoul region, the Languedoc’s largest white wine terroir that’s dedicated exclusively to white wine production. It’s made from the Piquepoul grape, a variety descended from the extinct southern French black grape Brun Fourca and one that’s believed to derive from “piquer”, meaning “to sting”—a nod to the grape’s prickly, tongue-tingling acidity.. But don’t let that scare you: this French find is a wallet-friendly, easy-drinking white that’s perfect for your ice-filled galvanized tub. (Plus, it’s fun to say.)

“Picpoul de Pinet is extremely refreshing, it’s not high in alcohol, it’s crisp and light-bodied and has lovely citrus notes,” says John Loats, head sommelier and manager at French bistro Le Diplomate in Washington, D.C. If I were to generalize Picpoul de Pinet’s style, it would be zesty and fruity, in the ranges of citruses and stone fruits.” In the glass, it’s pale yellow with green flecks—a visual clue to its freshness.

Zippy, mouthwatering acidity

Erin Dudley, wine director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, including French brasserie and bar Josephine in Virginia, agrees, adding that Picpoul de Pinet’s zippy, mouthwatering acidity makes it a perfect sipper when the mercury rises. Some of its appeal, she says, stems from the mineral-rich, calcareous limestone-clay soils that are predominant in the Périgord region of the Languedoc. “These soils, paired with the bright sunshine, offer a perfect balance of salinity, flintiness, and bright fruit.”

Claude Jourdan, owner and winemaker of Domaine Félines Jourdan, who produces two different expressions of Picpoul de Pinet and calls this wine “freshly, lively, and joyful,”, also says a marine influence by way of a touch of humidity, especially in September, allows grapes to gently ripen in a region where annual rainfall levels are quite low. The grapes’ proximity to the Mediterranean can alter the wine’s style, Loats says; those grown closer to the sea lend tighter acidity and pronounced salinity to the wines, white those grown farther away result in wines that are slightly rounder and fleshier.

Oysters and white wine photo credit Studio Zeny

Young wine with new styles emerging

Many Picpoul vineyards overlook the oyster farms found in the Étang de Thau lagoon and the Thau Basin, whose tributaries surround the terroir. In fact, the earliest advertisements in nearby Montpelier for Picpoul only showed a picture of an oyster and a lemon slice and the words “PIcpoul de Pinet.” Indeed, Picpoul de Pinet and bivalves pair swimmingly, the brininess coaxing out the wine’s salinity, and the citrus notes mimicking a squirt of that lemon wedge.

“I love it with our oysters and mussels to start off my meal, with a congruent pairing meeting the salinity of the wine with the salinity of the dishes,” Dudley says. “It can also be paired well with trout as the medium body and bright acidity work very well with the meatiness of the fish.” In addition to chilled and raw seafood, Loats like to serve it with Salade Niçoise and cured fish like sardines and anchovies. But he says it’s equally fabulous with cured meats like salami and prosciutto, and fruit including melons and mangoes.

To preserve its freshness and vibrancy, most Picpoul de Pinet is meant to be consumed young—ideally within two years. However, a new style is emerging that’s meant to test just what happens when you flout that convention. “Vins de Patience cuvées are a search for the aging potential in this wine, with each winegrower using their own method and signature,” Jourdan says. “These wines tend to be stronger and more powerful,” with a lingering finish that can last upwards of ten seconds.” Jourdan describes his La Cuvée Féline as riper and concentrated, still with that signature attack of acid but with added body.

“The move toward a more serious Picpoul de Pinet is definitely part of a move toward a more serious Languedoc region,” Dudley believes. She points to producers including Les Équilibristes, who makes a biodynamically and organically wine that’s fermented in stainless steel tanks before being aged in old oak barrels, where micro-oxygenation provides a broader palate.

So if Picpoul is so amazing, why aren’t more Americans drinking it? Well, according to Loats, much of it boils down to marketing and availability. “Regions like Sancerre and Chablis have been marketed to have better quality and prestige, which is not always the case with price in wines,” he explains. “Also, those wines have been widely distributed for decades, unlike Picpoul de Pinet.” Lower demand has kept prices in check yet doesn’t take away from the quality of these wines. Takeaway: grab it before it catches on too much.

Before you stock your cooler, it helps to become familiar with a few top producers, Dudley says. Here are some bottles that will meet your lazy-summer-al-fresco expectations:

Les Équilibristes Picpoul de Pinet $22

“While this is a natural wine, you won’t find any funkiness on the palate here! This is a clean, bone-dry white wine with aromas of ripe green apple, red apple juice, lemon, lemongrass, and a hint of lilac. The flavors on the palate mimic the aromas with a beautiful salinity on the long finish,” Dudley says.

Domaine Félines Jourdan AOP Picpoul de Pinet ($15)

Pleasant and harmonious, the wine balances vibrant acidity with great structure. Notes of citrus fruit, aniseed, fennel, lime, honeysuckle, and acacia are joined by a touch of minerality and a long finish.

Domaine Félines Jourdan La Cuvée Féline Picpoul de Pinet ($16)

A Vin de Patience style, this wine is aged on the lees for six months in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, during which time it’s stirred regularly. Its expressive nose is rich and complex, with atoms of candied citrus fruits and honeysuckle, fleshiness and roundness in the mouth balanced with freshness, and a lengthy finish.