The basic goal of organic farming is to create healthy, living soils. This is achieved in two ways. First is the use of only natural fertilizers, compounds that contain a wide range of the nutrients needed by plants and avoiding the concentrated fertilizers that are heavy on the three main plant foods; nitrogen, potassium and phosphate. (A good analogy is a person eating only sugar, steak and olive oil. They would certainly get all the energy and protein they require, but would lack the vitamins and minerals to keep them truly healthy, and would eventually fall ill; scurvy, rickets and goiter are all conditions that result from lack of a specific vitamin.)

Semillon is an underutilized and underappreciated grape in California. This offering from Yorkville Cellars is dry, very clean, and quite sophisticated. Aromas of apricot, pineapple, and vanilla rise from a freshly swirled glass. On the palate, pineapple and apricot return, with complicating notes of honey and citrus highlights rounding out the flavors. A lush white wine that’s balanced nicely by a fresh acidity.