The day after our wine tasting, I had dinner at Café Gray, choosing a buttery tenderloin of venison seared with a crust of fragrant, peppery spices.

When sprinkled with curry powder or a peppery spice blend and warmed on a tray, the nuts make an unusual appetizer.

These soil components produce a robust growth in leaf yield per stalk and exhibit a peppery spice in flavor.

While scallops in XO sauce ($15.25) are extremely fresh, with a welcome hint of peppery spice, shrimp with broccoli and XO sauce ($14.75) is disappointingly tame.

The stew was not unpleasant, though salty and seasoned with an odd peppery spice; the bread was hard, and tasted like burning weeds.

This eccentric twist on the New York deli staple is cured in coriander, salt, pepper and sugar overnight, then brushed with a melange of peppery spices and smoked.

Ms. Thomas said the cabernet franc was also discernible by its peppery spice.

A seemingly innocent tumble of greens, it is neither gentle nor mild, but alive - fierce, both in its inherent crispness and in the peppery spice of its leaves.

The peppery spice, for example, of watercress, arugula, young dandelion or nasturtium, makes a wonderful addition to the more mild-mannered head lettuces.

And in spring, when freshness, greenery and a touch of peppery spice are the most tempting, Mr. Schmidt comes through with a number of worthwhile suggestions.