A Norman
conquest

Pommeau de Normandie is a pop­u­lar loc­al aper­itif. For 500 years, it has been Nor­mandy’s best-kept secret.

There are no official records to tell us when Pommeau de Normandie was first produced.

A tra­di­tion­al, loc­al bever­age, today Pommeau de Normandie is to Cal­va­dos what Pineau des Char­entes is to Cognac.

Its ori­gins prob­ably date back to the 16th cen­tury with the devel­op­ment of dis­til­la­tion in West­ern France.

Already at that time, many farm­ers had the habit of adding “cider eau-de-vie” (Cal­va­dos) to their freshly-pressed apple juice.

This oper­a­tion — known as “mutage” — has long reflec­ted a tra­di­tion­al savoir-faire, known only to the inhab­it­ants of the region

The tradition has endured over the centuries and the technique has gradually been perfected.

However, the sale of Pommeau de Normandie was prohibited for many years.

The first attempts to offi­cially sell Pommeau de Normandie, in fact, only go back to 1946 when a group of pro­du­cers sought to pro­mote what was then referred to as a “cidre de liqueur” (liqueur cider).

They did not suc­ceed because the sale of cider-based aper­itifs was still pro­hib­ited at that time by a decree dat­ing from 1935.

How­ever, insist­ing on the fact that it was an ances­tral product, in 1948, they then sub­mit­ted an applic­a­tion for a “Pineau nor­mand” (Nor­mandy Pineau) made from cider and Cal­va­dos to be recog­nised as an appel­la­tion d’ori­gine con­trôlée (AOC). 

Renamed “Pommeau de Normandie” (Pommeau from Normandy) in 1972, this aperitif drink remained barred from distribution channels until 1981, when a special dispensation authorised its sale.

The fol­low­ing year, the ANIPP — Asso­ci­ation Nationale Inter­pro­fes­sion­nelle des Pro­duc­teurs de Pommeau (Nation­al Inter­pro­fes­sion­al Asso­ci­ation of Pommeau Pro­du­cers) — was set up by 15 pro­du­cers pro­du­cing 12 000 bottles between them at the time.

Two years later, sales had ris­en to 150,000 bottles. The product had been an instant hit.

Since 1986, the con­di­tions of pro­duc­tion of Pommeau de Normandie have been pro­gress­ively estab­lished and pro­tec­ted by decree.

Pommeau de Normandie obtained AOC status in 1991.

Since it obtained AOC status, more and more pro­du­cers, large and small, have been pro­du­cing and pro­mot­ing Pommeau.

Around 100 com­pan­ies are now involved in the pre­ser­va­tion and sale of this fab­ulous tra­di­tion­al beverage.

In 2022, over 600,000 bottles were sold.

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Proudly Made in Normandy

Production
A woman's hand holds a glass of Pommeau de Normandie

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