Wine aromas: spices, pepper and nutmeg

Pepper has long been the world's most popular and widespread spice. For a long time, it was as coveted a commodity as gold. On several occasions, it was used to pay taxes or ransoms.

Originating in Indonesia, in the Moluccan archipelago, nutmeg was used long before our era for its medicinal virtues, and only appeared on European tables in the Middle Ages.

A little botany

Black, gray, white and green peppers are the fruit of a perennial vine in the Piperaceae family.

The difference in pepper color depends on its degree of ripeness and the way it is processed.

• When the bunches are harvested unripe, it's green pepper.
• When dried in the sun, it's black pepper.
• When the berries are harvested ripe, their skins removed and dried, it's white pepper.
• When black pepper and white pepper are crushed very finely, the mixture becomes gray pepper.
• Pink pepper is the almost ripe fruit of another tree, the molle shinus, from South America.

Nutmeg comes from the seed of the nutmeg tree (Myristica Fragans). Its fleshy envelope, the aril, is even more fragrant and constitutes the mace. It has digestive and, in small doses, antiseptic properties. It is also said to be an aphrodisiac, and was once used as a... psychotropic!

In wines

Pepper is one of the distinctive aromas of powerful wines. Its presence is linked to grape variety, ageing and the influence of vintage and terroir. Syrah, Mourvèdre and Tannat are the main grape varieties that develop pepper aromas. This aroma is frequently found in wines from the northern Rhône Valley, whose red wines are made exclusively from Syrah.

More discreetly, nutmeg is found in the palette of some complex red wines. Some full-bodied, powerful southern red wines, such as the Spanish Penedès, evoke a hint of nutmeg. Very rarely, this subtle aroma accompanies the tasting of great sweet or syrupy white wines such as Coteaux-du-Layon.

Recognizing and memorizing the aroma

Memorizing the aroma of pepper and nutmeg couldn't be easier. Buy these spices as whole peppercorns and whole nuts.

Roughly grind a few peppercorns and smell them. You can store them for some time in a small glass jar, but the aromas will evaporate fairly quickly.

Grate the nutmeg to bring out its full fragrance. You can also find its two aromas in spice blends such as four-spice.