2011 Horse & Plow Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc Trio

3 x 2011 Horse & Plow Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc

The Horse & Plow name says it all: This is an honest, handcrafted, organic wine made by stewards of the land, husband-and-wife team Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins. There's nothing synthetic, nothing added and very low sulfites – just pure, clean flavor designed by nature that, at this level of quality, you'd normally expect to pay a premium. But at this price, you can just sit back and enjoy this beautiful wine on a warm summer day.

Creating a top-quality organic wine at such a low price is all about experience. Condos and Hagins are behind several such wines that have been hits with Lot18 members. Condos and his business partner, Rich Bruno, are behind the Vinum brand of everyday sippers, while Hagins's Lutea Pinot Noirs are some of the most expressive, site-specific wines you can find in any given vintage. Perhaps no one in California – maybe even in all the wine world – delivers a better-tasting, eco-friendly, everyday-priced wine than this team of winemakers.

The label, a homage to Bruegel's "Fall of Icarus," was created by family members Florance Condos and Alan Crockett. It shows a farmer at work with his horse and plow, unaware of Icarus's fall. You can let the label be a reminder of the hands-on work that went into this great-tasting wine – or just drink it blissfully unaware. Either way, you'll be perfectly pleased.

Tasting Note
This has everything I love about a warm-weather white. The nose is vibrant, with citrus and green-apple tartness, and expressions of these fruits come through on the palate as well. There's weight here, too – literally, it feels like there's something on your tongue – from the partial fermentation in French oak and the extended aging before bottling. It's a delicious, refreshing quaff. Enjoy it with weekend summer lunches alongside light fare – just make sure there's enough of it in the fridge.

—Stephanie DeMasi

Stephanie DeMasi has been General Manager and Managing Partner of Juslyn Vineyards on Spring Mountain for the last eight years. A New York City native, Stephanie graduated from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and moved to Napa in 2002 to experience the harvest. She has earned the Advanced Certificate of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust and a Wine Spectator Restaurant Wine List Award in 2006 for her work at fresh, a restaurant in New York City. Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @StephanieDeMasi