wrote:

I've been challenged by a friend to make a
Habenero/Pineapple wine. The desired end
result is a cooking wine that's just a little
too potent to drink without dilution, and with
some sweetness and pineapple flavor retained.

I haven't found a recipe specifically for this,
but I could wing-it and merge recipes for
pineapple and jalapeño. I have several questions
though.

1) Will the presence of a significant quantity
of capsaicin hinder the fermentation process?

Not to my knowledge, but my recommendation is to
add it to the secondary.

2) Would fresh or dried peppers be best for this?

My choice is dried peppers because I have experience
with them.

3) Has anyone tried bottling a cooking wine like
this with a pepper in the bottle?

No, but I wee no reason not to try it.

4) How many peppers would produce the desired level
of heat? (slightly too hot to drink)

I use ground Red Savina Habeneros to season soup,
chili, spaghetti, etc. several times a week and
use the beveled end of a chop stick to measure it.
My goal is to get the flavor and not the heat.

In a cooking wine, you probably want the heat. For
that I would suggest a straight, heavily flavored,
pineapple wine with a fresh Habenero pepper (split
in halves or quarters, seeds and all) in each
bottle, and bottle aged for a few months. You can
always add more peppers.

As an afterthought, you could accomplished the
same thing by making a Pineapple/Habenero
marinade for broiling only - broiling removes
both the alcohol and the pepper heat.

Dick