I came home with a pretty blue and gold box of truffles from Sheila Kearns Chocolate & Confection (see this week's feature) and felt I needed something dry and mineral to balance the sweetness. I like to buy local, but I wanted something bursting with fruit as if it came from Sancerre. So I went for the wine I've been drinking all summer long (especially poolside): Tangent winemaker, Templeton soccer coach dad, and surfer Rob Takigawa's 2016 certified sustainable sauvignon blanc from the cool, coastal Paragon estate Vineyard of Edna Valley owned by the Niven family. Rob and his team's sauv blanc is made with old-vine grapes, so it has wonderful depth and complexity, while also being clean and bright, silky and light. The twist cap makes it easy to open on picnics too. The well-balanced green apple, guava, and zesty citrus flavors in Rob's wine go just fine on their own, but with chocolate ... I'd better not go off on a Tangent ...

I found my bottle of Tangent sauvignon blanc at Whole Foods in SLO. Check for the green "Local" signs. $12.99. Δ

New Times contributor Beth Giuffre is raising a glass. Send cheers to [email protected].