Lunch with Attitude: It’s a sauvignon blanc from the Loire with a hip designer label. Along with several (non-edgy) Sancerre and Pouilly Fume wines it was quite a satisfying meal.

Winemaker: Pascal Jolivet

I was sitting in Della Femina, on North Main Street, but my mind was in the Loire Valley. I was at a lunch last week to meet Pascal Jolivet, a wine producer visiting from France, and to taste and discuss his wines. Mr. Jolivet specializes in two white wines typical of his Loire Valley region, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume.

One little reminder: it is easy to confuse Pouilly-Fume with Pouilly Fuisse. They may sound like cousins but they are not related. Pouilly Fuisse comes from Burgundy, where chardonnay is the predominant white grape, and though it is capable of being a great wine it can be disappointing and overpriced. Pouilly-Fume comes from the Loire Valley, is made from the sauvignon blanc grape, and although it seems to go up in price every year, is usually a dependable wine. It is closely related to Sancerre, which is made in the same region from the same grape. Both are delicious wines, exceptionally refreshing in warm weather. Sancerre tends to be crisp and lively, grassy and fruity with citrus notes and a strong mineral component. Pouilly-Fume is similar and as the name suggests may also exhibit a smoky or flinty quality.

The lunch was arranged by George Eldi, of Amagansett, who represents Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd., a well-respected wholesaler that distributes Mr. Jolivet’s wines. Chef Michael Rozzi planned and prepared a light seasonal lunch for our group, just some platters of food to accompany the wines: beet and goat cheese salad, frittata, fried oysters, smoked salmon, skewered chicken with potato and green bean salad, and various cheeses. Everything on the table was a suitable match for Loire white wines.

Mr. Jolivet represents a new generation of French winemakers. He is young and so is his winery, at least in traditional French terms. Some of his labels have a hip, edgy look, and one of his basic wines is named “Attitude.” Since he started producing in 1987, his wines have been featured in Michelin starred restaurants in France, and he is aiming to reproduce that success in this country.

The 2005 Attitude was notable because even though the word attitude works in French or English, the appearance of the label is not very French. It gives the grape name, sauvignon blanc, which is not the usual way in France, where regions or appellations are the usual identifier, and you are expected know which grapes are grown where. It is a vin de pays, from grapes grown in the Touraine area of the Loire, and so cannot claim to be a prestigious Sancerre or Pouilly Fume. Instead of marketing the wine as a generic Touraine, Mr. Jolivet has given it a modern spin with a proprietary name and designer label.

The marketing works since Americans, Australians, and much of the rest of world outside of Europe think of wines by the grape varietal. (We increasingly see exported European wines identified this way.) Mr. Jolivet’s Attitude—the name, the design, the information—all reflect a youthful, non-traditional approach.

Fortunately, what is inside the bottle lives up to this stylish treatment. The wine is a pale straw color, with a fresh, clean fruit profile of citrus and green apple. It is nicely constructed, soft and low-key but still refreshing. A very easy wine to sip on its own, it would make a good choice for those light summer meals soon to come. It sells for about $17.

The current mainstays of the Jolivet brand are the 2005 Sancerre and 2005 Pouilly Fume, each expressive of its grape and the regional style. The Sancerre is fresh, fragrant, with plenty of balanced fruit; the Pouilly Fume has the scent, for me, of a newly mowed meadow, with a bit of spice on the palate, or perhaps that was the flinty notes. They sell for about $25.

I particularly enjoyed two of Mr. Jolivet’s other Sancerre wines. Les Caillotes 2005, named after the lime-rich soil where its grapes are grown, is dry, clean, and supple, with a nose suggesting white fruits and flowers. Chateau Du Nozay 2005 is similar, with citrus notes and a pleasing mineral edge. Each retails for about $41. Mr. Jolivet also makes a Sancerre called Exception—I tasted the 2004 vintage—and it is exceptional, although at $84 a bottle it is clearly more suitable for free spending sybarites than the rest of us.

I used to buy Sancerre at very reasonable prices a decade or so ago, but as these wines have become better known, they have become considerably more expensive. I know I ought to put my frugality aside, but only Attitude, among the Jolivet wines, is priced for casual, everyday summer drinking. Still, a $25 Sancerre or Pouilly Fume with the Pascal Jolivet label is one lovely summer treat. Keep them in mind for an important meal.