The Pepper Puzzle: Grüner Veltliner, Rotundone & Thai Green Curry
The Science Behind Why Some Grüners Smell Like Pepper—and Some Don’t
📍Who This Is For
If you work in wine retail, host tastings, or help curious customers discover new pairings—this one’s for you. Not in the trade? No worries—you’ll still enjoy the story and the flavors.
I’m Kazumi, a DipWSET, wine and sake educator based in Europe. With a background in both Japanese and European food culture, I’ve spent years exploring how wine and sake interact with bold, umami-rich flavors from across Asia.
This Friday series shares real-world pairing ideas that go beyond textbook theory—designed to surprise, delight, and maybe even help you sell that next unexpected bottle.
This week’s post explores how the spicy, herbal depth of Thai green curry finds its match in a wine with a distinct molecular signature: rotundone.
Spices Meet Spice: Grüner and Thai Green Curry
At ProWein this year—where I focused on Austrian, Hungarian, German wines, and Japanese sake—I tasted over 30 Grüner Veltliners from regions including Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal, etc., and from a wide range of producers. What really struck me? The presence—or absence—of white pepper aromas. Some Grüners had it in spades. Others, even from the same producer but sourced from different vineyards or vintages, didn’t show it at all.
That led me down a rabbit hole. What causes this variation? And more importantly, does it matter in food pairing?
Turns out, it does. And there’s a compound to thank—or blame—for that signature white pepper note: rotundone.
What is Rotundone?
Rotundone is a naturally occurring compound responsible for the peppery aroma. It is found in some wines—most famously in Syrah, Grüner Veltliner, cool-climate Shiraz, or some Italian native varieties such as Schioppettino and Vespolina. It’s incredibly potent: humans can detect it at very low levels, even just a few nanograms per liter. (Note: about 20-40% of people genetically cannot perceive it.)
What makes it special? Rotundone concentrates mostly in grape skins but isn’t always present. It tends to develop more in cooler vineyards, shaded grape clusters, and may decrease under hot, water-stressed conditions.
Winemaking also affects how much rotundone ends up in the wine.
According to a 2023 peer-reviewed study presented at the OIV conference and published in the BIO Web of Conferences—a scientific journal that archives research reviewed by panels and organized by trusted industry bodies such as the OIV:
Most rotundone is extracted from grape berries between the second and fifth day of fermentation.
Only 10% of the rotundone in grapes is extracted during fermentation, and just 6% remains in the final bottled wine.
A significant amount is lost during wine treatment and filtration, likely due to rotundone’s hydrophobic structure and its tendency to bind with other materials.
Because it’s concentrated in the skins and difficult to extract into juice, winemaking techniques like whole bunch inclusion—even in white wine—can significantly impact its presence in the final wine.
Interestingly, the same paper also highlights a trend among producers experimenting with additions of whole grapes or even vine leaves during Grüner Veltliner fermentation and the results are:
Grape additions increased the wine’s spiciness.
Leaf additions significantly decreased it.
Additionally, higher fermentation temperatures also led to more rotundone content, likely due to greater kinetic energy reducing its hydrophobic character. Meanwhile, maceration time showed little effect. Whole bunch inclusion isn’t just for red wines anymore. Even in whites like Grüner, it can elevate rotundone and make the wine more pairing-friendly with green herbs and spice. That was something that I learned from this paper.
Then, all of this helps explain why two Grüner Veltliners from the same producer can smell and taste so different with or without the Rotundone.
Why does this matter for food? Because rotundone isn’t just an aroma—it’s a flavor bridge. Especially for dishes like Thai green curry.
What Makes Thai Green Curry So Tough—and So Rewarding
Thai green curry is a rollercoaster of flavors: green chilies, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, Thai basil, creamy coconut milk, and salty fish sauce. It’s spicy, herbal, creamy, salty, and slightly sweet—all at once. Moreover, green vegetables like zucchini, green beans, bell pepper, and eggplant are added together with roasted chicken or shrimp. You’ve got a flavor profile bursting with chlorophyll and spice.
Want to make it at home? You don’t need to start from scratch. Grab a store-bought green curry paste, add coconut milk, and your choice of protein and veggies—it’s easier than you think.
However, pairing it with wine is notoriously tricky, even harder than other curries due to the greenish taste and spices. Sweetness alone isn’t enough. High alcohol burns. Too much acidity clashes with the coconut fat. But Grüner—with its peppery lift and green fruit profile—can do something magical.
The green, herbal, and spicy elements in the curry resonate with the peppery, grassy lift in Grüner—especially when rotundone is present. The wine doesn’t just survive—it elevates the dish.
I tested this curry with another greenish variety, Sauvignon Blanc and frequent good partner for curry, Gewürztraminer. While both had merits, neither handled the dish’s complexity as elegantly. Sauvignon felt too sharp; Gewürz too floral and sweet.
Grüner struck the balance: freshness, spice, and enough structure to handle the intensity, and the white pepper bridged the flavors.
This week, I paired it with one of my favorite Grüner in Vienna, Austria.
Feature Bottle: Wieninger Kaasgraben Grüner Veltliner 2023
The standout wine for me was Wieninger Kaasgraben Grüner Veltliner 2023.
Weingut Wieninger is located on the outskirts of Vienna, just a 20-minute Uber ride from the city center. Weingut Wieninger is certified by Respekt Biodyn, ensuring sustainability and respect for nature.
This wine originates from the Ried Kaasgraben vineyard, located in the Sievering area of Vienna's Nussberg and made from 70-year-old vines, offering depth and complexity.
Here’s the profile, WSET Level 3-style:
Appearance: Medium gold
Nose: Medium+ intensity of green apple, pear, quince, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, grass, dill, fennel, distinct white pepper, wet stone, bread dough. Youthful.
Palate: Dry, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol, medium body, medium+ flavor intensity, medium+ finish.
Flavors: White pepper, quince, peach, apricot
Quality: Very good. Drink now, with potential for aging.
Grüner is often said to resemble celery or fruit salad—but here, the white pepper note is front and center and green salad is its backbone. A classic food wine with an edge.
Delicious on its own, yet it sparkles when paired with spice and green.
Trade Tip: Use Rotundone to Your Advantage
Grüner Veltliner is Austria's most important grape variety, accounting for 32.5% of the vineyard area—around 14,500 hectares—and it deserves every bit of attention. Yet for all its significance, it remains surprisingly underrated outside of Central Europe.
Not everyone might appreciate Grüner Veltliner’s subtle green character or some may even find it underwhelming compared to more aromatic whites. But that’s precisely where its strength lies, together with its distinct characteristics.
Grüner Veltliner’s restrained profile and faint vegetal notes make it one of the best matches for vegetable-forward Asian cuisine, especially Thai or Vietnamese dishes where fresh herbs, lime, and chili play key roles. It also pairs beautifully with simple green salads, where more aromatic or fruity wines might overwhelm the dish.
And when Grüner contains a hint of rotundone—that elusive white pepper note—it adds a delicate lift without distracting from the food. Instead of being the star of the show, Grüner Veltliner knows how to stay in harmony with the plate.
Encourage your customers to rethink “subtle” not as boring, but as versatile. Suggest Grüner for their next takeout night or garden lunch—it might become their go-to.
Have you ever paired wine with Thai food? What’s the most surprising match you’ve found? Leave a comment, reply to this post, or share it with a fellow wine lover. I’d love to hear your story—and maybe feature it in a future Friday pairing.
💬 If you’re in wine retail and tried this pairing—or recommended it to a customer—I’d love to hear how it went. Drop me a note or reply. I'm building a small circle of food & wine professionals through this series.
This post is part of my Friday series on Asian food and wine, and complements my Tuesday Sake 101 series, where I explore the fundamentals of Japanese sake through a wine-lover’s lens.
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Reference: BIO Web of Conferences, Vol. 66, 2023. "Rotundone accumulation in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Grüner Veltliner in relation to grape maturity and winemaking." Presented at OIV 2023. Link