So much has been written about pairing with with food because it can be such a challenge, and as someone who has goofed more than a few times putting food and wine together (there was the cherry pie incident over the holidays for example), I agree that wine can make or break a good meal.

John Mariani from Bloomberg.com has a fall back wine; when in doubt, he suggests Sancerre:

Since choosing the right wine for a dish can be a maddening exercise, versatility is one of a wine's most important qualities. In moments of indecision, nine times out of 10 I'd go with a good Sancerre.

Chardonnay is terrible with salmon and trout. Gewurztraminer has too many herbal aromatics for most seafoods and light meats. Semillon can be too dry for anything but oysters. And viognier -- well, I'm never quite sure when to serve a viognier.

Good Sancerre, on the other hand, has the fruit most people love in a white wine, the acid to keep it bright and fresh, the minerals to give it complexity and the price to make it affordable.

Not only does good Sancerre go well with practically everything except red meats and blue cheeses, but because it's bracing and has plenty of flavor to perk up the palate, it also makes a terrific aperitif -- and not just with canapes and foie gras but with popcorn, chips and pretzels, too.

You may have noticed I keep using the word ``good'' before Sancerre. There is an awful lot of not very good Sancerre in this large appellation in France's Loire Valley, with about 2,600 hectares under cultivation.

As for other wines around the world made from Sancerre's grape, sauvignon blanc, I don't think that any other region -- not California, not Australia and certainly not New Zealand -- understands the need for a balance of florals, fruit and minerals that make sauvignon blanc more than a tropical thirst quencher.