This tangy infused wine trend is being hailed as the drink of summer.5PH/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Jalapeño isn’t a desirable flavour in my wine glass. It triggers a negative association of wines made from unripe grapes. (I prefer that pepper, Jean Chretien style, on my plate.) Sauvignon blanc producers around the world intentionally avoid that peppery jalapeño flavour with their grape-growing and production process — and here consumers are, adding it back in.
Social media feeds are awash with people sipping their sauvignon blanc served with frozen slices of jalapeño. Inspired by the spicy margherita, the tangy infused wine trend — a refreshing dry rosé could work, too — is hailed as the drink of summer.
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Why not add sparkling water or club soda and go full-on wine spritzer? If the mullet can make a comeback, anything is possible.
It’s your wine, you should enjoy it as you see fit. Perk up your Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa or another cheap and cheerful sauvignon blanc with jalapeños if you wish. I would hate to see you spice up a glass of Cloudy Bay or any another premium label. Why pay the premium price for a flavour that you’re going to adulterate?
Wines made from sauvignon blanc grapes often balance green or herbal fragrance and flavour with fruity components suggesting citrus and tropical notes. Dipping into flavour chemistry terms, methoxypyrazine compounds are responsible for green notes, while thiols can contribute attractive grapefruit, passionfruit and guava flavours.
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(Jalapeño and green pepper notes are also commonly found in red wines made with underripe cabernet sauvignon grapes. Sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc are cabernet sauvignon’s parents and I’ve had the misfortune to sample jalapeño-laced reds from cool vintages too often to count.)
The classic Marlborough sauvignon blanc character delivers gooseberry, grass and asparagus with tropical notes, while the same grape variety grown in Sancerre or other parts of France’s Loire Valley offer elderflower, nettle and fresh herbal notes countered by citrus, green apple and peach flavours. Examples made in Chile and South Africa have attracted consumer attention, typically for good value whites that ape the popular New Zealand style.
Closer to home, sauvignon blanc flies under the radar in Canada, but can make impressive wines in the right hands that are delicious as is, save your frozen jalapeño slices.
Creekside, Five Rows, Peller Estates, Trius and Two Sisters are producers of note in Niagara, while Fairview, Lake Breeze, Le Vieux Pin, Mission Hill and Stag’s Hollow are ones to watch in the Okanagan.
