The Pineau des Charentes AOC

Since 1935, Pineau des Charentes has been subject to article 12 of the French law dated 6 May 1919 which regulates and protects French food products with a specific geographical origin.
Pineau des Charentes became an appellation contrôlée in its own right on 12 October, 1945.
This brought with it a set of stringent rules governing how the wine is made: origin, grape varieties, pruning, vine density, yields, blending, ageing, analysis standards, taxation and transport, as well as  labelling.
Only producers following these strict rules qualify for AOC status.

New directives to ensure quality and authenticty
Until 1 July 2008, Pineau could not be sold unless it passed an obligatory taste test.
Today, in the same spirit of ensuring quality, there are new rules for négociants and producers in keeping with a reform of the approval system entitling wines to appellation contrôlée status. Quality and conformity to appellation laws are now controlled with each producer at every stage of production, from beginning to the end of the chain.