Sauvignon blanc is often recommended as an ideal summer sip, but anyone who has tasted around the category knows that the regional and stylistic variations involved can make buying experience confusing. Personae assumed by this shifty varietal include the minerally, razor-keen French version, the grapefruit-and-gooseberry jazzed New Zealander, and the roly-poly, soft-focus Californian. Outsized flavors and wild aromatics are par for the course here -- especially under New World labels.

While at $10 and under these wines are quite a bit less likely to exhibit the flamboyant features more expensive versions can pack in, a nicely turned out sauvignon plonk may actually be the more versatile sip -- its more modest demeanor improving the odds that what's in the glass won't be competing for attention with what's on the plate.

And what is on the plate? It's often said that the classic match for Old World sauvignon blanc is a lovely fresh goat cheese. You may find, as we have, that this is a wine that seems just right alongside one of those big weeknight salads we concoct with some beautiful local greens, a soft-cooked farm-fresh egg, and a few slices of whatever came off the grill over the weekend. After all, these are the salad days. —STEPHEN MEUSE