The trick with cool-climate Sauvignon–which this is, coming from Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties–is to get the grapes ripe enough to be delicious, yet maintain that racy edge of tartness that makes Sauvignon Blanc so tangy. This is a challenge wherever Sauvignon is grown, from New Zealand to France. The 2013 K-J AVANT Sauvignon Blanc bottling shows that California is eminently suited to the occasion.

The first thing you notice here is complexity of flavor. Limes, kiwi fruit, fresh green apples and a touch of tropical passion fruit flood the mouth. But then the natural acidity rushes in, as clean and refreshing as a squeeze of lime in a Margarita. It really gets the tastebuds watering, making this wine the perfect cocktail sipper with little appetizers, from smoked prosciutto-wrapped honeydew melon or mushroom phyllo triangles to crudités with hummus to just about anything involving goat cheese. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc never saw any oak; it was fermented in stainless steel tanks to ensure an experience of purely elegant, dazzling fruit.

What Sauvignon Blanc needs to be above all is bright, fresh and vibrant. That’s exactly what you get with the 2013 K-J AVANT, and best of all is the everyday price, which makes it an incredible value.