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Guide to Classic Mexican Food & Wine
1. Pair wine with the sauce, not the meat, poultry or fish on the plate. The classics of Mexican food are always defined by their sauces.
2. Start your wine-sauce pairing by focusing on the chile featured in the sauce.
3. Sauces that feature fresh green chiles typically pair best with white wines.
4. Sauces that feature dried red chiles typically pair best with red wines.
5. Sauces that feature tomatillos as background to the chiles typically pair best with fruity Syahs or New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.
6. Sauces that feature tomatoes as background to the chiles typically pair best with Italian varietals like Sangiovese or Barbera.
7. Match a wine’s acidity to the characteristic lime, sour orange and fruit vinegar found in many classic Mexican sauces. Good acidity in a wine is frequently appreciated.
8. Match a wine’s fruitiness to the characteristic fruitiness of many classic Mexican sauces: chiles are botanically fruits (clearest in the flavors of dried chiles), but many Mexican sauces weave other fruits in as well. Concentrated fruit in a wine is frequently appreciated.
9. Match a wine’s fruitiness to the spiciness of the sauce. Spiciness doesn’t detract from a wine’s flavor, unless (1) the wine’s fruitiness doesn’t match the spice, (2) the spicy heat stings up front rather than being integrated into the sauce, or (3) your palate is overwhelmed by the spiciness because you’re not used to it. Matching fruitiness to spice doesn’t often mean matching sweetness to spice. Pairing off-dry wine with spicy food can lack the finesse offered by fruity dry wines. In fact, off-dry wine can often overwhelm the food’s flavor.
10. Matching sparkling wines with spicy food can lack the finesse offered by still wines. Sparkling wines often give more of a tactile match than flavor match.
Guide to Classic Mexican Food & Wine
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