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Some red wines smell distinctly of black pepper because they contain rotundone, an aroma compound also found in peppercorns. Researchers linked rotundone levels with black-pepper aroma ratings in grape and wine samples, especially Shiraz (also called Syrah). It is an association, not a promise that every bottle of Syrah or Shiraz will smell peppery.
What makes a red wine smell peppery?
The compound most directly associated with the classic black-pepper aroma in peppery Shiraz and Syrah is rotundone, an oxygenated sesquiterpene. In their 2008 discovery paper, Claudia Wood and coauthors described it as “an obscure sesquiterpene” with a “strong spicy, peppercorn aroma.” Their study found that rotundone concentration correlated with average black-pepper aroma ratings in grape and wine samples, with a stronger association for Shiraz than for other varieties in the samples.
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Rotundone is an aroma compound: it contributes a smell reminiscent of peppercorns. That is different from the pungency or heat associated with eating pepper. A wine can smell peppery without tasting hot in the way a peppercorn does.
Rotundone is not the same as pepper’s heat
Black pepper’s aroma and its pungency have different chemical associations. Rotundone is linked to peppercorn-like aroma in wine. A 2020 review identifies piperine and its stereoisomer chavicine as the main active compounds of pepper; these are associated with pepper’s pungent sensation. So “peppery” can refer to a smell or to a sensation of heat, and the two should not be treated as interchangeable.
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Why people may disagree about a wine’s pepper aroma
Rotundone can be perceptible at very low concentrations, but people vary sharply in their sensitivity. In the Australian Wine Research Institute researchers’ 2008 sensory work, the reported detection thresholds for the sensitive portion of the panel were 16 ng/L in red wine and 8 ng/L in water. About 80% of the panel was very sensitive, while about 20% could not detect rotundone even at the highest concentration tested, 4,000 ng/L in water.
Detection and preference are separate questions. A 2020 consumer study found that added rotundone was generally disliked by its participants, and focus-group participants did not find the idea of a “peppery” wine appealing. Those results describe that study’s participants, not everyone who drinks wine.
What peppercorns have to do with wine
Rotundone occurs in both black and white peppercorns as well as wine. In the Australian Wine Research Institute researchers’ 2008 study comparison, concentrations in the peppercorn samples were approximately 10,000 times the level in a very peppery wine. That is a comparison of the samples in that study, not a universal ratio for all peppercorns and wines.
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The researchers quantified rotundone in grapes and wine using stable-isotope dilution, extraction, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The method is described in their 2008 paper on determining rotundone in grapes and wine.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Syrah or Shiraz always taste like pepper?
No. The research supports an association between rotundone and peppery aromas in certain grape and wine samples; it does not establish that every Syrah or Shiraz will show the aroma. The grape or style name alone cannot guarantee a peppery bottle, and individual sensitivity affects what a drinker perceives.
Rotundone has also been reported in varieties beyond Shiraz, but the relationship with black-pepper ratings was stronger for Shiraz in the discovery study. That makes Syrah/Shiraz a useful style to explore if you enjoy this aroma, not a reliable bottle-level prediction.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Wood et al., “From wine to pepper: rotundone, an obscure sesquiterpene, is a potent spicy aroma compound,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2008): PubMed record.
- Wood et al., “Determination of rotundone, the pepper aroma impact compound, in grapes and wine,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2008): PubMed record.
- Australian Wine Research Institute, “Pepper flavour in wine”.
- Geffroy et al., “May peppery wines be the spice of life? A review of research on the ‘pepper’ aroma and the sesquiterpenoid rotundone,” OENO One (2020): article.
- “Individual Differences in Thresholds and Consumer Preferences for Rotundone Added to Red Wine” (2020): PubMed record.
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