Wine Guide and Guest Blogger, Brittany Loveless shared with us one of her favorite summer activities: picnics! Read on for her tips on the perfect pairings and accessories to make your next picnic a hit.
Every picnic welcomes a new place to adventure, with endless possibilities of snacks and refreshments you can pack up, and enjoy everything nature has to offer. There is nothing better than a chance to unplug and connect with nature, and more importantly sharing the day with the ones you love. Picnics are a chance to unwind under blue skies and notice all the pops of color the summer blooms have to offer, while the warm breeze delivers aromas of fresh cut grass, and floral scents. What better way to unwind than to dig out that checkered picnic basket, pack up your favorite chilled wine with snacks, and get outside!
But first, wine.
The perfect picnic is one that is easy to assemble, simply portable, and can be served at room temperature. If you plan to bring along wine, keep it light by choosing a dry, acidic white wine or a dry, crisp rosé. Let our 2019 Bella Mente, Pinot Grigio, 2019 Lulo, Grüner Veltliner, or the newest arrival of 2020 Pearls and Kicks, Rosé, be your go-to picnicking wines this summer. Not only are they crisp and easy to drink on a warm summer day, but they also can go with a large variety of go-to classic picnic foods.
Be sure to pack your favorite wine chilling accessory to keep your wine cool. Traveling Vineyard has a wine chiller sleeve accessory that is perfect for keeping your wine chilled for a picnic on a warm day. Simply pop it in the freezer overnight before your picnic and grab on your way out. Wrap it around your bottle of wine in your picnic basket and—easy peasy, your wine will stay chilled all day!
Pairings for your picnic spread
Lunchables used to be all the rage when I was a kid, and probably still are for kids today. Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to pack your own adult Lunchable! For easy assembly, slice up a couple of your favorite semi-hard cheeses such as cheddar or colby jack cheese, add meats like pepperoni, salami or prosciutto, then add crackers, and you have your nostalgic cracker sandwich that tastes better than ever!
If you want to skip the cracker sandwich or add a little something more hearty to your picnic spread, making a tortilla pinwheel sandwich with cream cheese is a great option. I find that sandwich breads can get easily squished and a little soggy from condensation, but the tortilla pinwheel sandwich holds up a lot better!
Potato chips with a french onion or ranch dip are a great addition to help round out your easy picnic menu sides. You can also use trail mix or salted nuts—simply put your mix into a small container or Tupperware for easy sharing. The salty profiles from the nuts will pair up fantastically with any dry acidic white or dry rosé wine, the acidity of the wine will lessen the taste of the salt itself for a perfect bite.
Don’t forget the sweets!
Skip the fruit punch juice pack from when you were a kid, because Pearls and Kicks, Rosé is the perfect adult juice pack on its own. It’s bursting with red berries and watermelon rind tasting notes. Watermelon is the easiest go-to fruit for picnicking whether it be on its own or in some variation of fruit salad. It’s the perfect match up with your wine on a warm day to keep you feeling cool.
If you’re looking for a sweet treat to end your meal, skip the traditional chocolate chip cookie. Save that for another day when you are drinking a red wine and lighten it up with a white chocolate chip or macadamia nut cookie! Your palate will thank you for pairing it with your favorite white wine or dry rosé.
With warmer days here to stay, whether you are just planning a walk to the park or an afternoon on the beach, be sure to order your favorite white or rosé wine. Pack the perfect picnic and enjoy the outdoors while wowing your fellow adventurers with your picnic pairings!
Get your blanket ready, create a picnic playlist and pack your basket or cooler. Try your own picnic wine tasting this summer for free. Connect with your Wine Guide today!