Chili Peppers in your Shitty Pink Wine

When I first saw the Bon Appetit article suggesting that I add sliced jalapenos and rose to my bouquet, I considered getting mad. Still, I remembered telling you to add pickles to your shitty beer. I was too tired to feel any anger.

Given the number of spicy cocktails available, adding a few pepper slices to a glass of inexpensive wine is not that extreme. Bon Appetit reports that the practice, popularized by TikTok user Allyssa from the Kitchen, started as a joke.

Although it’s not something you should do on a delicate, nuanced, or dry rose, I found it acceptable to add a few slices to a glass of super-cheap, sweet pink wine. I did. It wasn’t hard.

Because the store had run out of jalapeno peppers, I bought a Yellow Tail rose for 9 dollars and a serrano. I sliced them thinly and then stuffed eight small pepper rings in an old jam jar. I poured the wine over them, let everyone get acquainted for a while, and then took a sip.

The wine lacked depth and flavor, but it added some dimension. Although it was mildly spicy at the back, the peppery aroma made it even more intriguing. It had a pleasant, hot, and fragrant bouquet. These tasting notes are not uncommon in the wine world. Although the flavors are more prominent in this context, I have seen more than one bottle with “bell pepper” and “jalapeno” listed on the labels. It also made the wine more glug-able by tempering its sweetness, which I like in low-priced wine.

It is if you have several peppers to choose from, a great party trick. Make sure you serve pickles with the peppers. You already know this.