PINEAU PICNIC 2026

ENTRIES OPEN 27.07.26

THE BRIEF

CREATE A BRE-BATCHED, ONE POUR COCKTAIL SERVE

The drink must contain at LEAST 35ML OF FERRAND PINEAU DES CHARENTES AND BE PRE-BATCHED.

If you are successful to get through to the final, you will pair your serve with a picnic snack and design your own picnic table to host our judges

WE’RE SEARCHING FOR a serve built for a sunny afternoon in the park; golden hour, FROSTY glasses passed between friends, AND Ferrand Pineau des Charentes at the heart of it. sun-ripened grape must and Cognac, aged quietly in oak until turned soft, honeyed, and faintly nutty.

In Charente, Pineau has long been part of the landscape. You can easily imagine a bottle already open in the fridge, served well chilled with a few oysters, some melon, a piece of cheese, or simply when friends drop by. More than just an aperitif, it is a table habit. Something familiar, convivial, and deeply local.

the liquid

People often say that Pineau was born from a cask forgotten by accident in a cellar. It is a lovely story, but the reality is even more interesting. Pineau comes from an ancient and perfectly controlled practice: mutage. The principle is simple: alcohol is added to grape must to stop fermentation and preserve the grape’s natural sugars, as well as its freshness.

Ferrand Pineau des Charentes is made mainly from ugni blanc, complemented by colombard. The freshly pressed must is blended with Ferrand Cognac, then aged for at least 18 months in oak casks, in accordance with the AOC rules. During this ageing, the wine gains roundness and depth, while keeping an important sense of tension.

Learn more about Ferrand Cognac

Round 1 - instagram / online entry

Entries open 27.07.26 and close 04.09.26. You must record your entry via the online form at the top of this page, as well as tag us (@maisonferranduk) in a photo of your entry on Instagram with the name of the serve and details in the description.

Finalists will be announced on the 11.09.26.

round 2 - final

One final will be held in London, UK on the 30.09.26. This is where it all comes together and you'll bring your pre-batched cocktail to life for our judges as you pair your serve with a picnic snack of your own creation, all within a set budget. This competition isn't just about what's in the glass. You'll be given a budget to design and dress your own picnic table - think decoration, styling, atmosphere - and host our judges at a picnic entirely of your own making. Your serve, your snack, your table, your world. Build the scene, set the mood, and show us the picnic you'd want to be invited to!

THE process

an invitation only, private and exclusive tasting aboard

barge 166, our floating cellar on the river seine, paris

with return travel to paris FOR 2 PEOPLE

THE prize

Anchored on the Seine at Issy-les-Moulineaux since spring 2021, Barge 166 is Maison Ferrand's boldest experiment yet: a fully restored 1948 Freycinet barge, fitted out to house 1,500 small oak barrels of Cognac and rum. At its heart is dynamic ageing — the continuous rocking motion of water once discovered by chance when 18th-century Caribbean rum casks crossed the ocean by sea, deepening flavour through constant contact with the wood. Maison Ferrand has revived and refined this near-forgotten technique, turning the barge into a working laboratory for maturation as old as seafaring itself.