Menu Pineau: Obsolescence, Persistence, and the Preservation of Minor Identity

Menu Pineau: Obsolescence, Persistence, and the Preservation of Minor Identity

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In the lexicon of French viticulture, where names often signal prominence or prestige, Menu Pineau occupies a different register. Its name, drawn from the Old French “menu” for small or fine and the regional catchword “pineau” for certain white grapes, suggests neither grandeur nor marketing clarity. Instead, Menu Pineau stands as a reminder of local specificity: a white grape once modestly distributed across the central Loire Valley, now nearly erased from modern viticulture but still defended by a thin line of growers, archivists, and experimenters.

Early Mentions and Regional Anchoring