Why Are People Adding Jalapeños To Their Sauvignon Blanc?
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Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and this year, instead of talking about spicy margaritas, social media is abuzz with spicy wine.
In the last week, videos showcasing sliced jalapeño in Sauvignon Blanc have amassed over 14 million views on TikTok.
'Add Jalapeños to your white wine. I prefer frozen jalapeños and Sav B,' writes one creator who has over 616,000 views on her video of her adding three slices of green jalapeños to a wine glass. Other users tout the unexpected combination as 'divine' and their 'fav new summer drink.'
'TikTok loves drama, and what's more dramatic than spiking your wine with a chili pepper?' shares Daniel Beedle, sommelier at Birch & Bloom in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, it also speaks to a larger shift within the industry. 'Consumers are flavor-curious, less bound by rules, and fully willing to blur the lines between cocktail and wine culture,' adds Beedle.
It's no secret that the casual drinker is getting more comfortable remixing classic beverages: the alcoholic version of a Shirley Temple (Dirty Shirley) peaked in the summer of 2022, wine slushies took over in 2023 and last summer it was all about open can cocktails, essentially adding booze to your favorite non-alcoholic beverage in a tin.
'The jalapeño hack is a logical next step,' says Beedle, explaining that the trend is one of those rare phenomena where chemistry, sensory play, and social media serendipity collide. This is because jalapeños and Sauvignon Blanc actually have more in common than you might expect.
Both jalapeños and Sauvignon Blanc grapes contain pyrazines — aromatic organic compounds that are found in a myriad of other foods like poblanos, serranos, peas, asparagus and cucumbers, that result in their characteristically zesty, nutty and herbaceous aromas.
The pyrazines found in Sauvignon Blanc are imparted by the grape skins. 'Pyrazines are incredibly aroma-active so you can detect them at very low concentrations… even in low-doses of a couple nanograms per liter, that vegetal aroma dominates,' explains Megan Brodie, global wine director for Archer Roose Wines.
Since Sauvignon Blanc is naturally high in pyrazines — especially New World expressions like those from New Zealand, Chile and California — adding sliced jalapeño to the wine can enhance the wine's inherent notes of citrus, herbs and tropical fruit while adding a subtle heat and layered vegetal quality.
'It creates a vibe that's almost like a spicy margarita but more flirty and elevated,' says Preston Smith, sommelier of Beity in Chicago. He adds: Fresh peppers are key in order for their crisp bite to 'liven the wine, adding a fun jolt across your taste buds' and for 'the pepper's kick to complement the tart grapefruit and passionfruit flavors.'
The flavor combination also works because jalapeños are packed with capsaicinoids, another plant-derived compound, that doesn't easily dissolve in liquids like wine. 'Instead, it sits on the palate and mucous membranes, delivering a slow-onset heat that enhances texture and prolongs the finish—almost like the tannin effect in red wines, but spicy,' says Beedle. So it becomes not so much a spicy wine but rather a 'heightened sensory echo of what's already in the glass—like turning up the saturation on a photo.'
As interesting of a concept as it is, experimenting with this technique also comes with its limits as you can lose some of the nuance of the wine when you add jalapeño. 'I would never think about adding this to a Sancerre or a French Sauvignon Blanc,' advises Alex Cuper, beverage director of El Che and Brasero. This is because these Old World styles are more delicate, often see oak and aren't as pyrazine-forward.
'Admittedly, I would rather do this with fruits rather than a spicy pepper,' adds Cuper, posing a new challenge for social media: 'Maybe we give pineapple and Chardonnay a try? TikTok, what do you say?'
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