Swap The Ice Cubes In Your White Wine With One Spicy Ingredient For A Flavor Transformation

Sipping on a chilled glass of white wine by the poolside screams summertime enjoyment. The nuanced flavors of white wines, ranging from buttery and oaky to fruity and floral, open the door to customization, though some additions are more controversial than others. For instance, adding ice cubes to your glass of wine may be enough to spark a heated debate. On the other, adding frozen fruit like grapes is less jarring and yields a delectable fruitiness.

If you're tuned into the ever-evolving food and beverage trends on social media, you may have come across a particularly piquant technique to transform the flavor of your go-to glass of white wine: adding slices of frozen jalapeño peppers. While this trend might shock some seasoned connoisseurs, hear us out, because the drink it produces could be described as something like a wine-forward rendition of a spicy margarita.

Making wine with frozen jalapeños is as simple as it sounds. Start by quickly slicing your fresh jalapeños and removing the seeds. (For the spice fiends out there, keep the seeds in the mix and check out this easy hack to identify hotter jalapeño peppers.) All that's left is to freeze the peppers, pour yourself a generous glass, and drop in a few frozen slices. You're now ready to possibly change your life with your first sip, as the vegetal, peppery notes from the jalapeños interact with the characteristic flavors of your favorite white wine.

White wine is savored for its crisp, refreshing character. From popular single-varietal wines, like chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and pinot grigio, to white blends that feature a combination of grapes for a balanced sophistication, white wines pair beautifully with many dishes. But when it comes to this particular spicy spin on a typical glass of white, certain varieties outshine the others.

When the jalapeño enters the glass, the natural flavors of these wines are altered. The pepper's vegetal notes serve as a prime contrast to berry-forward and citrusy flavors, allowing them to be more easily detected. The jalapeños can also lead to a more crisp glass, as the spicy peppers augment the wine's acidity, yielding a tongue-tingling sharpness without tasting sour.

The consensus appears to be that sauvignon blanc reigns supreme for pairing with frozen jalapeño peppers. This is because the variety's typical tropical fruit notes and subtle hints of green bell pepper are complemented by the vegetal heat of the jalapeños. But don't let sauvignon blanc's dominance in this pairing stop you from playing around with other varieties. You may be pleasantly surprised by the result of the sharp pepper flavor cutting through the rich butteriness of chardonnay or toning down the sweetness of a riesling or moscato.