Spicy wines can taste ‘peppery’.

If you’ve tasted French red wines from different regions, you’ll likely find some of them having a spicy sensation.

It’s not limited to the feeling in your mouth. You can even smell pepper, cloves and cinnamon aromas from the wine.

Natural compounds in the wine cause this sensation of spiciness. One of them is called rotundone and it can be found in pepper too.

Where can spicy wines usually be found?

The wines in regions like Rhone Valley and Languedoc tend to be spicy. Indeed, wines there are likely to have the spicy Syrah (Shiraz) grape as part of their blend. In Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon brings pepper notes as well

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