Mexican meals can make a wine pairing difficult. Those wicked chiles knock out the flavor of any wine or strong beer. So you need to choose a good wine and tailor the menu. The tailoring's easy: Conspire with your waiter, unless you're afraid of being thought a wimp; find out what's low-key on the menu, in a hot-chile sense, and order it. Then go for the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Background
This remarkable wine -- stuffed with green, herbal flavors, a green-apple/grapefruit/passion-fruit fruitiness, and wrapped in a zippily acidic frame -- started to draw world attention in the 1980s. Before long, wine gurus around the planet were calling New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc -- particularly the ones from the Marlborough region, at the north end of New Zealand's South Island -- the best Sauvignon Blancs being made in the world today.

But a little trouble in paradise developed, from my point of view. One of the most successful labels was Cloudy Bay, which received enormous attention and praise. The makers allowed their fruit to get a little riper, and their wine to come to the market sweeter rather than bone-dry. Seeing their success, other Marlborough wineries started to follow suit.

Shopper’s Tip
Ten years ago you could pick up just about any Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for your enchilada feast, but today you have to be more selective. The wines, on average, are higher in alcohol and sweeter, with less of that tingling acid zap that enables them to buzz-saw through rich Mexican food.

-David Rosengarten

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