The Peugeot Chateauneuf pepper mill is made from European beech wood and the "Cherry" version is a cherry stain. You can still see the grain of the wood through the stain which is alot lighter than the stain which is put on the Peugeot Paris Chocolate mills or the Hostellerie or Rotisserie mills for example. If you are looking for a very dark stain, then I would recommend the "Chocolate" models. Some of the grain of the beech wood is still noticeable but not very distinctly.

Hope this helps. Claire