This combination isn't intuitive, but hot peppers can make wine more refreshing.
This Is the Reason People Keep Putting Jalapeños in Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc
Published on May 16, 2025
If there’s one place to find unexpected food combinations, it’s social media. TikTok recipes abound with weird combos like chamoy and pickles, whipped cream and lemonade or Jell-O mix and grapes. The mashup going viral right now is wine with jalapeños. People drop a few thin slices of fresh jalapeño into a cold glass of white or rosé and rave about the taste.
At first, this pairing seems ridiculous. But I’m a certified taster and the author of How to Taste, and I can tell you that there’s solid logic behind this trend.
How does this flavor combo work?
The pairing of spicy jalapeños and crisp wine relies on several flavor interactions to tickle your taste buds. First, spicy notes mute sweetness. A one-note wine that leans a bit sweet will feel less sugary and more crisp when you add heat from sliced peppers.
Second, this pairing depends on contrasting flavors. The vegetal notes from the jalapeño contrast any citrusy or berry-like notes in the wine. This contrast elevates the flavors, making them more intense and easier for you to pick out and taste.
Finally, acid or tartness in wine is intensified by hot peppers. This doesn’t mean your wine will taste sour in the presence of peppers, but many bottles will feel snappier and crisper on the palate.
These flavor interactions are the same reason a spicy margarita has a more punchy lime flavor than its pepper-free counterparts. This new trend is basically just the spicy margarita of wine!
A glass of wine that’s a bit boring and sweet will seem brighter, crisper and more complex just a few moments after you add slices of jalapeño. Of course, you’ll also get the subtle heat of jalapeños, especially in the aftertaste. If you aren’t a fan of heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño slices before you drop them in your glass.
Which is better, jalapeños in rosé or sauvignon blanc?
Most viral TikTok videos use one of two types of wine: sauvignon blanc or rosé. Both wines are good candidates for this spicy trend.
Sauvignon blanc is known for big tropical flavors, especially when it comes from New Zealand. These wines naturally have notes of lush mango and tangy passionfruit, but many also have subtle notes of grassiness and even green bell pepper. Adding jalapeño will make those tropical flavors less sweet and elevate the greener vegetable flavors if they are present in the wine.
If you like a savory note to your vino, then this is great news. But for some people, the wine is less enjoyable because it will taste more like bell peppers than the tropical fruits this wine style is known for. If you love those green pepper notes in a wine, look for a sauvignon blanc from Chile. You can find one on this list of white wines under $20.
A glass of rosé is an ideal place to pop in some pepper slices. This is especially true of rosés on the sweeter side, which can benefit from the reduction in sweetness that spicy peppers provide. Typically, rosé has notes of red fruits, berries and stone fruit, which all provide a nice contrast to the grassiness of jalapeño. Plus, very cold rosé seems even more refreshing because the jalapeño heat will boost the wine’s crispness!
For the best rosé-to-pepper matchup, look for a wine that is a little darker in color. These tend to be sweeter and have heavier fruit flavors, which benefit from the lift and liveliness of the pepper’s heat.
The Best Way to Prep Your Jalapeño Wine
Anytime you add juices, fruits or other ingredients to wine, reach for a bottle on the less expensive side, like these rosés under $20. Then, make sure your wine is well-chilled. The coldness of the wine is another way to contrast the spiciness of the peppers, which will up the freshness factor. Make sure you pour the wine in a glass with a wide rim; this will allow you to enjoy the tantalizing aromas of both the wine and the peppers.
Now that your wine is prepped, on to the peppers! The thinner your jalapeño slices, the faster the flavors will infuse into the wine. Add a few thin slices at a time, and give the flavors a minute to infuse between additions for the perfect balance.
If your glass is full of jalapeño seeds, know that the spice level will continue to increase the entire time you enjoy your glass of wine. Alcohol is very good at extracting spicy compounds from the jalapeño seeds.
My perfect jalapeño wine has four very thin slices of the pepper with just two or three seeds plopped into a cold glass of sweet French rosé, specifically Jean-Luc Colombo Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Rosé Cape Bleue or La Vieille Ferme Rosé. The subtle spice and red raspberry flavors come together for a refreshing treat that is best enjoyed on a sunny summer day.
Related:
